Good Luck, Good Night, and Texas Fight!

Well, here we are. We are almost all packed up. The truck comes tomorrow and after it leaves, we will go halfway to Albuquerque and stay the night. We will live out of suitcases for a week and maybe even camp out in our new house once we close next week and wait for our stuff to arrive. These transitions are always a little bittersweet.

I think that leaving Austin has made me the saddest of any place that I have left. I'm pretty sure that it is because of the friends that I have made, the city, what we accomplished here, and how much we grew. We came here barely married less than a year and leave a family, all grown up - selling a house, having two cars, having furniture that we probably will keep for decades, etc. I think that we finally have become adults (quiet, you, in the peanut gallery).

When I left home for college, it was exciting. When I left for Guatemala for my mission, it was exciting and I was doing something great and meaningful. When we left Utah to come to Texas, it was the next big step in our lives. Perhaps part of it is that we've been here for four and a half years. It's the longest I've been in one spot since leaving home after high school.

Of course, we look forward to our future. We look forward to our family growing next month when we adopt a boy. We look forward to a higher salary and a start of our "real" lives, post eduation. We look forward to new oppurtunities to serve and meet people and do great things.

I can't speak for Becca, but I'm not very good at goodbyes. It just kind of ends usually. It's usually like a teenage boy's telephone conversation, "huh? yeah? *grunt*. ok. bye." Maybe it is a coping mechanism so that I don't look girly and get choked up. Or maybe I'm just in a state of surreal limbo, tired from the transition, lost in what is to come, or just socially awkward. So, if I seem(ed) aloof or weird, know that it wasn't because I was trying to get away from you. I just suck at goodbyes.

I know that it will be a seldom chance that I will be back in Austin that much. I think that these blogs will help keep in touch better. I'm sad that I have lost contact with some of my old friends. Sometimes I try to track them down online or cyber-stalk them, but usually it's pretty hard to find them. I did find my high school girlfriend's blog once. Ok, creepy. You know you've done it too. Back to the subject. I hope we can share our joys and progress with you and hope to see how you are doing.

I have a project planned to put all our time together in Austin in one place, but I don't know when I'll have the time to do it. Maybe in the spring if I don't get around to it during this break. It'll take a little getting used to having to actually plan vacation days and time off and working 8-5 every day.

So, until next time, goodbye. We love you.