Saying Goodbye

A couple of nights ago while Andrew and I were feeling sad about moving he said, "When we moved here we were just a couple, now we are a family." In so many ways that statement is true. We are moving back to Western New York with so much more than we came with to Morgantown. Two dogs, a baby, furniture and hearts that are full of love for the friends we have made.

Three years ago, Andrew's parents drove a moving truck to Morgantown and we met them after a glorious summer at Deerfoot. They helped us unload the truck, took us out to lunch and said good-bye. We were totally alone. We didn't even know where a Wal-mart was to buy a shower curtain. Andrew didn't know how to get to the law school and I didn't know how to get to work. We felt very lost and very uncertain about what the next three years would bring.

Three years ago, we left our home in New York to start a new life together in an unfamiliar place and we were committed to making it our new home. We were determined to make friends, get involved in a church, find people to bike with (Andrew--not me), and to be happy with our new strange home.

As a place, Morgantown is not my favorite. I hate the traffic, the thousands of students, the poorly paved roads, and the hills are exhausting during long runs. The people of Morgantown however, are individuals that I will always cherish as they've embraced Andrew and I and made us part of their lives.

As we started our life here we started checking things off our list. Andrew found people to ride both mountain and road bikes with. We went to bike races together and slowly unfamiliar faces became friendly meetings around town. We found a church together that we grew to love and through that church we made dear friends. We started a small group that we have grown close to over the past two and half years through weekly dinners and weeknight workouts. We laughed and cried with those same small group friends as we've all experienced loss and joy in our lives together. I found a job that I love and through that job friends that I will never forget. Friends that helped me grow as a teacher and a person. Friends that gave me advice through my pregnancy and who have shared in my joy of becoming a mom.

Now it is time for us to say good-bye and it is impossible to do. My first round of good-byes started when school ended and tonight we had another farewell that is causing tears to run down my cheeks. It is only going to get worse. One of the hardest parts of this good-bye is that we are moving our family. Our close friends here prayed for us as we tried to get pregnant, prayed for us as I was pregnant, were at the hospital right after he was born, and have watched Ben grow over the past five months. It saddens me to know that they won't see him every week and that we won't see them every week. It is hard for me to leave knowing I have friends who will have babies and I won't be here to watch them grow.

With all of this sadness, there is great joy however and we are excited about our move. We look forward to Ben growing up near his grandparents and other relatives. We are excited about living closer to friends from college. We hope to embrace our new life in Fredonia with the same determination that we had when we moved to Morgantown. Our determination to truly live in Morgantown is what is making it so hard to leave. We will miss you Aaron, Amy, Ryan, Carly, Rylee, Adam, Stephanie, Breena, Jeremiah, Chris, Julie, Megan, Jen, Jesse, Brittany, Rob, Gunnar, Betsy, J.R., Sarah, Justin, Rhonda, Kellie...the list could go on. Thank you so much for being there and for being a part of our lives.