The Farewell Begins

*Let me preface this post by saying it is a long one...

Friday, October 1st I leave for Florida. I am a mix of emotions right now. I am excited and nervous. I am anxious and sad. I am grateful and reflective.

While I watch Lou carry around her newest baby doll and hear Landon playing upstairs I realize the sounds of home will be something I will miss the most. Of course, husband and the kids I will miss more than anything, but the familiar sounds of Lou waking up in the morning and Landon telling me good morning with his crazy bed-head hair which is so much part of my every day, I will miss! I will miss the goodnight kisses and the "I love yous" which Lou has just started saying.

I will miss my mom and dad. I will miss my dad calling me just to check up on my week or when we see each other in traffic in the mornings. I will miss our not too often marathon mother-daughter days. Our latest one was long over due, but I enjoyed being able to spend time with my mom, just me and her.

I will miss my (not so little, anymore) brother, Doug. I cannot believe he is 21. I will miss him coming over just to hang out or going out till the morning hours downtown. I will miss him when he comes home from MTSU to visit and calls to tell me he is almost home. Because his home (Memphis) will no longer be my home.

I will miss my Target and Walgreens runs with Emily. Though we haven't gotten to spend as much time with each other as we once did, we still pick up where we left off like we haven't skipped a beat! I know we will still have phone calls that last too long and hopefully some visits back and forth, but I think she knows I love her dearly no matter what!

I love my job. I love working at St. Jude. It is a wonderful place filled with brilliant people (nurses, physicians, etc) that do excellent work to treat and hopefully one day cure childhood cancer. The neuro-oncology team is unique; well at least I think so. We are little quirky and weird, and yet we are our own little entity. I will miss Dr. G and our Monday morning meetings where you never know what he will say. I will miss his visits to our office where most of the time it is business as usual but sometimes it is just to catch up on the day or to offer wisdom like only he can.

I will miss Oxford, MS. It is now fall and college football is in full swing. This normally means at least a few trips to Oxford to the Grove to cheer on the Rebels. We did make it to the season opener, but sadly our trips to Oxford have ended for the year. I love the Grove and being part of a wonderful tradition that I think only Ole Miss can offer. I will miss our tailgate friends, cocktails, and people watching (because the sight of coeds teetering in 4 inch heels in the grass is entertaining and the frat boys all dressed up in the red and blue is a sign of true school spirit).

I will miss my girls, Meghan and Samantha. Over the past 2 or so years, we have become co-workers but more importantly friends, exceptional friends. I will miss coming in to work and catching up on their weekends (unless we spent them together, then we are usually laughing at something that went on). I will miss our afternoon talks at work about love, life, and whatever else seems to be the topic at the moment. I will miss how we get each other even if one isn't talking. I will miss our endless inside jokes and silly movie quotes. I will miss our girls nights when we eat, drink, laugh and stay out way too late! More importantly, I will miss what they have become to me, a part of my family (the sisters I knew I wanted but never had)!

I will miss home. Dennis, he is my home. He is my stability. It will be hard being away from him. We haven't been apart for more than maybe 5 days at a time since we have been married. I will miss being able to go to sleep next to him and wake up beside him. I will miss spending time together after the kids have to gone to bed, even if it just watching TV until time to go to bed. I will miss taking care of him and him taking care of me.

Memphis, what can I say? My home for 29 years (1 year was in Jackson, TN). You may not be bright and shiny like some other cities. You may not have the best reputation when it comes to politics, crime, or the health of it's citizens; but you still have a piece of me. I grew up here. I got engaged here on the roof of the Peabody hotel. I married here at the Chi Omega headquarters. Both of my children were born here. My childhood memories consist of Mud Island, where I would dip my toes in and walk in the river path and seeing Disney on ice at the coliseum. I look back at high school where I learned to drive in mid-town and nearly caused the instructor a heart attack when I decided to not slow down when coming off of an interstate ramp that was clearly marked with 25mph (I think). I remember dates downtown and riding in the horse drawn carriage with Beven and Beamer (the dog and the horse, not my date's name). I remember my 21st Birthday starting out at BB Kings and ending at the Blue Monkey on Madison. My more recent memories of Redbirds Baseball games, Grizzlies games, and concerts at the Orpheum. And who could forget Memphis in May? This city has my love. I will miss it as well because it is where I learned, laughed, loved, cried, and left the people I have know my entire life.

So this week the farewell begins. It is bittersweet. A new adventure awaits in Florida.....