The Big Goodbye....

Today, I met my parents for breakfast. Great to see them again. Then home to take a nap.

Later, I got up and the wife and I went to the BIRD for my "Goodbye Mt. Pleasant" party. Lots of friends, new and old came. From past jobs, soon to be ex jobs, old friends, former roommates and much more. I remember as I sat there and for once someone wasn't talking to me. I sat and watched all those people talking and laughing and I thought for the first time: "I may never see these people again." I got kind of sad at that thought.

I am a big believer that everyone you meet no matter how minut your experience with them was, shapes you in some way. And I look on at this huge group of people who helped me become who I am today and I almost cried. Almost.

It is sad to see a chapter of your life end like that before your eyes. Despite the excitement of the next chapter to come this next week. I still hope I can turn back and revisit some choice passages. (oh, how sappy and poignant, right??) I will miss everyone. I feel great knowing that the people I chose to be my friends are not simply "drinking buddy friends." I am very choosy about who I will open up to and grow close to. And I am confident, looking out at that crowd I was with tonight, that I made some damn fine choices.

If you all are reading this, I hope to see you again someday. I am not hard to find at all. Through the power of the INTERNET, I am not hard to track down at all. Hell, right here at my BLOG you find out my day to day. So, don't say I never call. When I post here, its like I'm calling. Okay? Dig that.

My thoughts right now are serene. I am very anxious to get started building my new world in my new town, new job, new friends, new places, new faces. But I am also anxious to see all of you once again. And I will. I'll trek back up, trust me. And even though I will be far away, part of me will still be here.

Let me leave you with some lyrics of one of my favorite songs....

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more