So…  Here we are.  In Kentucky.  And while I probably should have written while the emotions were fresh, there just wasn’t any time.  There were trucks and moving crews to reserve.  Boxes to pack.  Utilities to cancel.  Friends to say good bye to.  And, at the end of the day, I just didn’t have the energy to write about it.  It was all just too raw.

The good byes started well over a month before the move, with my students graduating and leaving for the summer.  And then, as I had my last moments with people.  Spreading them out as much as I could, trying not to see more than two people for the last time on any given day.  Realizing I hadn’t made the most of the time I had with friends was painful.  Not getting to say good bye to others was eye opening.  As were the ones who went out of their way to make sure we had a chance to say good bye.

And then there was Robbie.  Not sure how to really explain to him that we were moving for good, I talked to him about it a little every day.  The last day, he said good bye to our house, all the fire stations, Arlington (once he realized we were leaving and Arlington was staying).  And, when one of our good friends dropped him off, he hugged her tights and said, “Have to say good bye.  QiQi move Kentucky.”

The actual day of the move was brutal.  Waiting for the movers to come – they were almost three hours late – and not really having anything left to do.  And then, all of a sudden, we were done.  The house was empty, just like it was when we moved in.  Except it was so full of memories from the past five-and-a-half years.

The place in the basement where I called Justin for the first time to tell him I was standing in our basement.  The exact spot where my mom saw Robbie for the first time.  Where our Christmas tree stood.  The kitchen sink where Robbie took his first bath.  And now, all of a sudden, it wouldn’t be ours anymore. 

It was all more dramatic because it was dark when the movers finally left at 10:00.  Turning off the lights in each room had a much greater sense of finality because it was completely dark.  And closing the door for the last time, knowing I would never be back, broke my heart. 

And yet, here I am.  Three days later and in Kentucky.  It still feels like I’m on vacation.  But things are looking good here.  We found our perfect house.  Our buyers signed a purchase and sale on our condo today.  And we get to be with family again, which, as I watch my son practice “running hugs” in the backyard of his aunt’s house, means everything.