loving goodbye yet feeling it, too

i’m terribly happy to be in possession of one real live plane ticket.

but you’ve no idea how much i will miss the monday coffee’s with laura, the monday bible-studying with my dear katy and whoever showed up, the spanishing with nate and gib, the short but deep talks i’ve had with the women of this community, the four-month-old baby Sidster with the big smile, and the downtown where you can walk around and soak up the good (and slower) hustle and bustle of a southern city. but missing the city is kind of an afterthought. it’s mostly the people who draw me back to this place.

though the rivers and the leaves and the mountains and the bluegrass do somethin’ crazy on me.

and that coffee shop, the one where life’s problems seem to get better or worse depending on how sweet the tea is? i’ll miss that, too. today i went there and for the first time the barista asked me, now what’s your name again? that felt so good.

it’s been the most unpredictable summer. i thought i would hate it, but saying goodbye leaves a lump in my throat. that, my friends, if you have followed my summer, is an Ebenezer.

so long, verano!