Saying Goodbye!

First things first. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Everyone that partied hard, I hope that you were all safe, and are all recovering well. For those of you that did not party hard, I hope that you all had an exciting and enjoyable day yesterday.

On to the story…

As you all know I moved my family down to Asheville to be with me this past week. All things considered, everything went very well. Packing and loading the moving truck was a little frustrating at times, tempers flared (especially with the children, and the wife dealing with the children), but everything got loaded and unloaded without anyone getting killed – now that is a good thing!

Last Tuesday was our last night in Muskegon, and let me tell you, it was an emotional one. Before we headed out to my parents house for the night, we made a stop by my wife’s Niece’s house – mainly so that she could cut my hair one last time – and to say our goodbye’s. This stop was really emotional for my wife, kids, and her niece since they have been really close for the past couple, few years now. I really hope that she is able to find someone that she can count on to help her out with her son, the way that my wife was able to be there for her.

After the long goodbye, and the tears falling and soaking the shirts, we get in the car for one last, and little less emotional, stop off to my friends house. I had to make sure that I stopped off to see him since I had a little piece of our history that I wanted to leave with him (not gonna go into what it is since we could both get in trouble for it…lol). Since I was already emotional from the previous stop, I could not contain my emotions when I gave my friend a hug to say goodbye. Even though we have not been able to hang out much over the past few years, we knew that we were still there for each other, no matter what!

Tuesday was a very, very emotional day for the family. We were saying goodbye not only to our friends and family, we were saying goodbye to our first real family home. The one that we worked so hard to purchase, and the life that we worked so hard to have. Allbeit, it was not the best home to live in, it was still our HOME for the past five years.

Wednesday was travel day. The day that we said goodbye to the State of Michigan. The first day of a new beginning, the start of a new life, and the day that all that troubled us in the past was virtually, to me, left behind. It was the day for the clean slate, the day we hit the restart button, the day we finally got our “do over.”

The trip itself wasn’t too bad. We couldn’t have really asked for better weather. I rained a little here and there, but for the most part, it was a good day for travel. It took us about 17 1/2 hours to get from Muskegon to Asheville, but we were only doing about 65 mph the whole way (I was driving a 26 ft U-Haul truck. Wasn’t trying to drive too fast…lol), and we were stuck in a traffic jam for about 1 1/2 hours in Cincinnati cause a truck hauling paint busted open. Other than that, it was a good trip.

The past couple days were pretty good. Sun was shining (which made unpacking that much easier!), and it wasn’t too hot out during the day. We were able to unload the entire truck in about 5-6 hours and return that beast to the local U-Haul station (thank God! Since the damn thing was too big to fit in my driveway, and was taking up too much room in the turn-around on our street!). Of course, we still have boxes to unpack. But, the big and important things are unpacked and available for use.

Today was the most emotional day for me by far. Today was the day that I said goodbye to my parents. They came down with us so, thankfully, we had someone to help us with the move on this end. But, this morning we had to say goodbye. As my wife and I were watching them drive away, all I could think and say to myself (I did not dare to say it out loud) was “Now, we are officially on our own!” Even though I did not have the best relationship with my parents, I always knew that I could count on them for anything that I might need. But now, they will only be able to help from afar.

Although my wife and daughters are here with me now, knowing that we are alone and on our own, no family to help in that time of need, scares the shit out of me! Eventually the fear and emotions will subside. The tears will dry. And the overall comfort will set in. But, until then, I can honestly say that I will miss the hell out of the loved ones I had to leave behind.

Sorry this is such a long post today, but I had to get it all out. Thank you, my friends, for being here to virtually listen to me. It does mean a lot.

Until next time, my friends…