We leave today. Three short words put into a sentence I knew was coming but almost didn’t believe, but here it is. In the last few months I started looking around me thinking “I’m going to miss you so much, Annapolis.”
Annapolis is the only place in Maryland I’ve called home, and it’s the only place in Maryland I would want to return to. It took me awhile but I fell in love with with it. Main Street, Quiet Waters, the Bay, and so many restaurants grew on me over time and made life out here so much more fun than I originally thought it could be. As we visited these places for the last time I found myself wishing to cling to them, pack them away, take them with me.
But I can’t. I can’t pack away the way the sunset hits the water and bathes the sailboats in perfect lighting. I can’t carry on how the trees look as the light filters through them on a run through the park. Aside from photos these things are completely intangible. Sure I can go hug trees or the sides of the buildings and tell them I’ll miss them but I do try to avoid letting everyone know just how weird I am right off the bat.
Then there are the tangible things I’ll miss. Our living room set that got packed away and sent into storage. About half of our book collection that is being left behind. My car. My car. My beautiful little 2006 Toyota Corolla that I loved and never let me down (except that one time it got a flat and I had to take a crash course in “how to change a tire in a Denny’s parking lot”).
One of the only things that eases the ache I feel when I think about leaving this place is something Sean told me a few days ago: just think. In two years there will be places in Dushanbe you’ll be just as sad to leave.
He’s right of course (as much as I hate admitting it).
Our love and thoughts go with you as you embark on this life changing adventure. We’ll be thinking of you during your travels the next few days. Aunt Lonna & Uncle Joe