Encore: saying good-bye...

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2007

Here is one of the nominees from August 2007. Shortly after saying "I do" the first time. I accepted my dream job. Following the dream required a relocation to the East Coast, North Carolina to be exact. Kenyon was born in Kansas City and had lived there his entire life. He supported the dream and joined me on the adventure.


This week I have started saying "good-bye." I don't like it much. Though Kansas will never be home - I used to say, "I could live here twenty years and it won't be my home. I won't be a Kansan." - it has been a great place to live. I have made the best friends of my life here. The best! In my nearly nine years in Kansas (I will be short of my anniversary by a couple of weeks), I had many people leave me to greener pastures, but I remained part of a vibrant, close-knit, wonderful community. I've already shed many tears about leaving these friendships, this community. I'm sure these will not be my last.

Last night I was at a going away dinner hosted in my honor and one of my friends said my absence will leave a void that cannot be filled. I feel that way about so many people here. My departing will leave a void in my life that will not be replaced. I'm confident I will make new friends, but the wealth of friendships I made in this community is irreplaceable. I can't conceive of replicating this experience in a new place. So, my leaving is bitter-sweet.

I was asked at a going away lunch, if I viewed this as just a job or as a calling. I view it as a calling. I believe the series of events that brought me to this place was not by chance and was more than coincidence. I would not be leaving my community, uprooting my life, and forgoing my PhD (for now) if I believed otherwise. There is some solace in knowing that, in feeling there is a larger purpose behind it all, but that doesn't mean it's easy to relocate.

Friends, you have impacted my life in more ways than you will ever know. I am so grateful to all of you, and indebted to many of you (debts I can never repay). I am going to miss you - miss just doesn't seem strong enough; I'm going to long to be with you. Thank you for making this place that I came to reluctantly such a beautiful experience. I love you. Know there is always a room waiting for you in North Carolina.