Fall                                                                                              Closing Moon

The good-byes have begun. Went to the Walker this afternoon with Stefan and Lonnie. Having a place to move and a potential moving date, house packed on December 15th and 16th, gives definition to Colorado bound, a definition not possible even when the books were packed and the scout had been out doing her job.

(Ruth and Gabe on the first day of school this year.)

Pulling away from friends will be the hardest part. Lonnie and I have been going to the Walker together, off and on, for the better part of 30 years. The Woollies, the docents all many years of time. It was this glue that held me here a few years back when Kate and I first considered this move. The time was not right. Now it is.

As Lonnie said, you don’t leave friends behind, friends are for life. That’s true. The difference is the seeing and being seen on a regular basis. I’ll miss it, but the call of the mountains and the grandkids is stronger. Consequences, all decisions have them, neither good nor bad, just necessary.

Doing only the things that only I can do put Colorado on the will do side of our life’s work. Only I can be Grandpop to Gabe and Ruth. Only I can be father-in-law to Jen and stepfather to Jon. Only I can learn, for myself, what the West means within the unique context of my life. Only Kate and I can make this journey together, a bonded team.

And only I can say good-bye to you, my friends.

Fall                                                                                            New (Closing) Moon

Journey before destination. I’m back to this, back to living in the move. No longer as move-stupid as I was yesterday. With the critical Colorado mortgage process complete we can look at moving dates. I just e-mailed A-1 movers to see if the week of December 15th works for them. If it does, we would stay for the Woolly meeting, then follow the truck out to Conifer. If not, then we’ll go the first week of January.

There’s still residual weariness, exhaustion, not yet made up. I’ll be on the road again Wednesday, this time driving, so it will be a while before I’m fully caught up on my sleep. That drive will, however, be a peaceful one, listening to audio books, enjoying the quiet of a rolling retreat. Road trip!

It’s not like we’re finished. We have to finish packing, get that fence built in Colorado, pay many different people to do a lot of different things, but it’s manageable. Doable. The best part is that we can work toward the transition with our own decision making and judgment. The underwriter will have retreated to her underworld. If we’re lucky, no underwriter will make the trip up to judge us ever again.

So leave taking really begins. This move is happening and within a month and a half. Saying good-byes used to be a weakness of mine, sudden departures with no farewells. Not so today. I look forward to seeing many of you, Minnesota readers, before I leave. If somehow I miss seeing you, then good-bye.