That goodbye tint

Saturday is the big day and all around me everything is taking on a certain farewell tint. As I drive down the road past trees I've seen nearly every day these past two years I keep thinking to myself, another week and I won't be here. The Cahaba will still be winding underneath this bridge, but I will be pressing further into the unknown as we drive across the country. It's a hard and exciting feeling.

Just yesterday we sat down together with our congregation for the last time in a long while. The funny thing is that I kept thinking it didn't matter how far away I went because Red Mountain Church would always be here when we're ready to come home. I know it was just a feeling, but I like to think that maybe it's actually true.

In the midst of these goodbyes we've been trying to sort out our possessions. I keep finding a dozen small tasks popping up just when I'm ready to settle down and really get something done. It's rather exhausting in a way. It doesn't help that all the mental chatter in my brain makes it hard for me to settle down and get to sleep at night. Right now I think I'm running on guts and adrenalin -I don't really want to see what happens should those suddenly give way on me!

And so life continues. There's a lot I'm going to miss while we're in California. I'm going to miss the saturated green of summer, afternoon thunderstorms, and the wonderfully homey nature of living with 90% of our family within two hour's drive. I'm going to miss driving to the gulf and the Atlantic ocean and the smell of live oaks. I'm going to miss Easter and 4th of July down at the farm riding around on 4-wheelers and wading in the creek. But I must admit, I'm starting to look forward to all the adventures we're going to be having out in California.