Goodbye For Now

To the last month in Memphis! My second home, second country. I’ve barely had a moment to be emotional because the journey of getting this plane ticket has been so long, goodbyes didn’t feel real… Not until the Wilson kids started hugging me. I think leaving kids hits the hardest because you know they will be changing so much in the time you are gone. They all started calculated what grades they will be in, and what birthdays I will come back to. My grandmother in her hysterically eternal mindset waved me goodbye yelling, “see you heavenward!!!” as I left her home. I’ve felt like I was leaving my community so many times the last year, it felt strange to actually give last hugs and words.

This month has felt so full. Sending my parents off to work trips, flying to see Bre and Shaun, last dinners with @verityhwang, soaking up time with @eggluntz and @tina_time_23, freakin best POKE with @amy_mac.c, final birthday celebrations with @emilyholmesweddings, hanging with dear Kat, Ginny, Sara Beth, Tasia, spending time with the Wilsons, last dinner with the Cavitchs and so many others. It wasn’t really about seeing all my favorite spots in Memphis this month, it was really about seeing all my people. Because those of us with the joy and honor of calling Memphis home know “it’s the people” that keep us here. There aren’t mountains, don’t recommend swimming in the river, it’s not the epic public transportation and it’s not the weather, it’s our people. Thankful for your time here. That God saw me fit for this city for 11 years. On to my third country, one of many homes. Homes inside me that never lose their realness or their capacity to draw me back.

It was surreal at the airport hugging my parents, Ginny and Em. No tears were shed, but my heart did feel the natural tear when you leave a part of your heart behind.