The last few weeks have been a whirlwind during which I slept between 4-6 hours a night (no exaggeration) and somehow did not need to mainline coffee. I blame adrenaline. Last week felt like five straight days of goodbyes, see you laters, and last times. It was both easier and harder than I imagined it would be.
On Saturday morning, I had a lovely, quiet breakfast with the family that has hosted me so generously for the last six months and then loaded up my car and was on my way. My mom was nice enough to sign up for a two day road trip to keep me company. :-) Our drive took us out of TX and through LA, MS, and part of AL on 10E. We stayed overnight in Mobile, AL and then headed north to Atlanta on 65 and 85. It was surprisingly leisurely, which had been my goal in planning it out, and we were blessed with roughly zero traffic and decent weather.
It was important to me that I drive out of TX (a first for my car, which has, shockingly, never left the state before!). That first leg of the trip was sad and exciting in equal parts. Bittersweet. I was leaving home and going home. Mostly though, I spent it thinking about how deeply grateful I am to all the amazing people in my life. I often feel like I have a lot of homes in a lot of places and none of that would be possible without all the people who make those places home. I am especially thankful for the people who have given me family by inviting me into theirs. I doubt that there is any greater gift.
Serious stuff aside though, leaving Texas was a big deal and I needed to make sure I was well prepared. Because, I can't believe I'm saying this, some things might actually be better in Texas. Not all things (looking at you husband), but some things. So I moved to Georgia well stocked up on Whataburger spicy ketchup, HEB tortillas, and Platinum yeast (that last one isn't a TX thing but I haven't yet figured out where it is sold in GA). I planned a Whataburger stop in Louisiana and gleefully introduced my mom to the chain. I also brought a growler of BJ's root beer with me (again, not strictly TX but not in GA either). Husband hoped I would bring some wood for smoking, especially mesquite, but I ran out of room in the car. We'll just have to plan another road trip for that. I once brought my Publix brand staples up to Michigan and now I'm bringing my HEB staples to Georgia. At least I'll be set for a while as I settle in.
And that, somewhat anticlimactically, concludes my final post for Fifteen Hundred Miles South. It's hard to believe that I spent as much time "leaving" Texas, 18 months counted from when we first knew we would be moving, as I did "living" in Texas, counted from when I arrived to when we knew we were leaving.
I started my original blog, Eleven Hundred Miles North, when I moved away from Georgia. Now that I've moved back, I am debating whether or not to continue. I'm leaning toward starting a new blog and keeping it going but I'll spend some time thinking about it (and about whether I'll have enough to write about). I don't quite want to open it up to a vote but if you feel strongly one way or another, feel free to let me know. For now, thanks for reading!
