It was a combination of the poetic and the mundane -- the misty morning sunshine on the harbor and the last few things needing to be packed; the birdsong, the general early morning peacefulness and the details of getting the bike onto its new rack; the series of last looks around Belfast -- blooming gardens, people getting started on the day, trash ready to be collected, uneven pavement. On balance, though, the poetic won out. It was a lovely day, even a lovely day for leaving town "forever."
Jay was easily able to solve the problem of getting the old bike onto the new, expensive bike rack (there really was a technical problem, Jacqui, it wasn't just us!). Chris was able to play with her grandson a little before we got on the road. We dropped off her car at a friend's near the airport in Portland so she could drive home after she got off the plane on the return trip, and then the trip was on!
I had the sense all day of leaving behind famliar destinations connected by these familiar highways. I have been traveling the roads of New England and upstate New York for much of my adult life. Something quite new is about to happen with this adventure of living in the West.
I drove as far a Lowell, MA. Then Chris took over for the rest of the drive to Utica, NY. I would have felt like a slacker if I hadn't been so tired from all that getting ready for the movers, all the work of prying so many things out of their accustomed places and into different ones. She drove through a fierce rainstorm with area of lightning and thunder while I tried to find the radio station with the detailed weather forecast. We spent a pleasant evening with old friends of hers and fell into our very basic, comfortable enough rented beds.
Utica is the farthest west I have ever lived. I was here as an interim minister in 2000-2001, the year I was ordained, graduated, and accepted into preliminary fellowship, the year I was called to Manchester, NH. Little did I know that the interim ministry would be calling me back and sending me even farther west!
So onward!
SO nice to be reading your thoughts Mary. I felt a deep sadness when I realized I would not be able to say goodbye in person. Your blog will help me with the transition. My love to Chris. I'll have to call her one of these days as I always call her at least once a week!
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