Simultaneously an end and a beginning

Tonight is my last night in the States for awhile.  It feels quiet, like the hush before dawn, and a little bit sad.

Sad, because of all the goodbyes recently, the tight hugs and the tears and the achy feeling when you walk in the other direction.  I'll miss my family the most because they are in my bones and a part of me in a way that calls me home.  But I'm grateful to realize just how many friends in Phoenix have wormed their way into our hearts, and from whom it's particularly grieving to part.  I'll miss them greatly.

Then there are the frivolous things that become less frivolous when you're away.  I'll miss the marriage of popcorn and movie theaters, peanut butter and jelly, sour cream and salsa, flag-shaped cakes and the 4th of July.  I'll miss the freedom of driving, and I'll miss the easy flow of English and the inside jokes of friends who have known you a while.

Tomorrow is a day for new beginnings, and the morning brings with it a trip to the airport and a flight that will carry us to a new era of life.

Tomorrow will be exciting, and there is so much to look forward to in our new Spanish life.  But tonight I get to look back.  And I have to say - United States of America and all that is within, I will miss you.