The final goodbye

Back from New Hampshire Tuesday morning, I had one more night in the Boston area before the final goodbye.  In the end it was harder than I expected, leaving so many friends and family.  I had lunch with friends from work, then spent the evening with Erin and Brian and Zoe.  Here's a picture of Zoe eating applesauce.

Next was a final visit with my roommate Vicky, where I picked up some chocolate to sustain me on the road.  Finally, I spent the night with my grandparents, doing final packing, rearranging, and worrying about the trip.  Wednesday morning we went for a long walk with the dog then I hopped in the car and drove off.  Here are my grandparents, posing for the camera:

And here's me, with the car that still has no clue what's about to happen, though she's starting to get suspicious, with all the camping gear, tools, and winter clothes packed in the trunk:

Did I have any great thoughts upon leaving?  I'm afraid not.  I was anxious to get on the road, wondering whether I had packed way too much or way too little stuff, and more than a little sad to be closing the Boston chapter of my life.  I had one little thought - you know how we mark major events with ceremonies?  Graduations, weddings, birthday parties, etc?  I've decided that moving is a ceremony in itself.  The sorting, packing, repacking, cleaning, final checking, and turning in of keys is part of mentally preparing to leave the old home behind.  This is the first time I haven't followed that ceremony with the immediate moving-in ceremony of populating a new closet, hanging pictures, buying a new trashcan, but instead I got a new cushion for the driver's seat and a new radio, and carefully packed things so that every-day stuff would be most accessible.  So I guess I'm now moved into my Civic!