Posted on February 19, 2016
Word of warning… I am writing this at 2:20am after moving all day and driving so the writing may not be coherent and the pictures are horrible quality.
Well, this is it.
When I accepted this job it seemed so far in the future, it never really sunk it that it was happening.
Now, the day has come – after surviving #snomeggedon on Tuesday (51.2 cm/20 Inches of snowfall in one day),we have left Ottawa…our home.
Last Friday we had a ‘goodbye’ party at Clocktower. Everyone who knows me fully expected Niagara falls worth of tears and sad moments. Surprisingly, it didn’t happen. I was so happy to see people from so many different parts of my life in Ottawa that I just got caught up in the moment, laughing, smiling, hugging, and reminiscing. I was so caught up that I didn’t take any photos (although there is GoPro footage). When I was there I realized that it wasn’t actually goodbye, it was ‘see you later’ and thanks for the memories we have created together so far. Now, I’m not saying that there won’t be any tears (I am the queen of emotions), but last Friday those ‘sad’ emotions were pushed aside by love and giggles.
Today was an entirely new experience again. We have spent the last few weeks slowly saying our goodbyes, so it almost didn’t even seem real. We spent all day packing up the Escape, the moving van (which was short a mover so A-A and Christian were super helpful packing it up), and the trailer with Aaron’s tools.Not only did we spend the day packing, but we became electricians trouble shooting problems with the trailer for a couple hours. Every inch of space is accounted for, just ask Kari-Ann who was squished in a half of a seat with Watson on her lap, surrounded by my wedding dress and boxes. Or me with my new yoga pose I am going to call the ‘serene packer’ with my legs in an awkward semi crossed position cuddling bags and backpacks for seven hours.
Saying goodbyes to the last few people actually made things start to sink in. My final hugs with Christian were really hard, it has always been him leaving me behind in Ottawa so this seemed strange and way more difficult than the other end of it. Seeing Dawn watch us leave out her store window, followed by running into two of my old students made the lump in my throat grow. The final moment in Ottawa, actually seeing a good friend and mentor that I didn’t expect to get to say goodbye to topped it off. The tears were filling my eyes. I managed to keep it together, despite all this and ‘Good Riddance’ coming on the radio (great timing), but it finally started to feel real.
Thankfully, the next seven hours consisted of a car filled with non-stop superstar karaoke performances (especially when Aaron got excited about songs), numb legs, boxes hitting Kari in the head, an impromptu sighting and final goodbye to Nolan at a Brockville gas station, eating Swiss Chalet in a Starbucks, lots of laughs and exhaustion. I am so glad that we had Kari for the ride to keep things entertaining and light.
Now, the first leg of the journey is done and we are looking forward to a few days with family before we head out again.
For now, looking forward to bed and more new experiences over the next few days (I promise the next post will be written earlier in the day and have more flow).
https://amicroscopiclook.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/so-long/