It felt as if the day would never come...

           All the talk, all the preparation, and all the planning let us know the day would arrive but it felt like it never would... Then the day came.

            The day before the big day was hectic. True to our nature we waited to the last minute to pack so the whole day for me revolved around getting our things in the Defiant. Not that we have a whole lot of stuff mind you just that our things were all over the place and we only had a vague idea where we would put it all. We also had more then we needed and wanted to get rid of some excess junk. 

            As busy as the day was though we still made time for all the well wishers who visited and called,

At the Diner with family before we took off.

and there were a lot of them. There was more than I thought there would be and thank you to all the friends and family who came by or called. That night was crunch time though as the sun set and our friends and family went to sleep Kayla, her mom, and I hurriedly put the finishing touches in our new home. 

            The work kept us busy and we were at it well past 1:00 AM so I did not get much time to think about what we were about to do. By the time my head hit the pillow I was wore out and fell right asleep. Five o’clock in the morning came way to fast and before I could even dream the alarm clock was buzzing; it was time to get up. The day to begin our adventures had come. 

            We had plans to meet family at the diner for breakfast so we did not dawdle as we got ready. Most everything was in the Defiant before we went to bed so all I had to do was shower and do one last walk through the house before we hit the road. 

            The gathering at the diner was small Kayla’s mother, grandmother, little brother and aunt. I had bacon, eggs and French toast. It was just like many other breakfasts we had at the diner but this time it was to say good bye. 

            With all that was going on in our life we had forgotten that it was Mammaw’s birthday. So it was not all goodbyes it was happy birthdays as well. The conversation was up beat and we were all happy and hopeful. Then breakfast was over and it was time to say good bye. 

            I did not think I would be bothered, after all this is exactly what I have been working towards these last few months. But now that the time had come I felt the tears well up in my eyes just as much as it did in the eyes of those who came to see us off. We all gave our hugs and said our I love yous. When Sleydar let the tears go I could not hold back either and I tried to hide my face so no one would see my tears. One by one they all walked away till Kayla and I were alone and it was time to drive off. 

            I had thought when I left my mind would be filled with thoughts of the future but it was full of memories of all the things I love about home. I will not likely be there for another of Sleydar’s ball games and I know we will miss the holiday gatherings with the family. It will be a long time before I play another game of corn hole with our friends the Austin’s or play BS with ‘dirty Curt’. I doubt we will find BBQ quite like what we are used to in Lexington.

            I guess saying good bye is never easy even when you are leaving to chase your dreams. I know it is not good bye forever, our travels will bring us back to NC soon enough. So it is not a good bye as much as see you soon. The next time we see our friends back home we will all have more stories to tell. The next time we get together with family we will appreciate it more. The next time I eat Lexington BBQ it will taste even better. The next time I am sure we will still cry as we say our farewells.