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.