Baseline

This morning was D-Day. After a beautiful weekend which was spent saying goodbye to friends, separating stuff into Take, Keep, Give Away, and Throw Away, packing and moving the Keep stuff to Jessica's, and having too much to eat at Casa's, this morning I loaded up the Vue in between raindrops and snowdrops (they weren't really flakes) and got ready to hit the road.

 

But the journey of a thousand miles begins at the Firefly, so Mitch and I first had some sustenance. I had the last Sugar-Free Vanilla Chai, Skinny, which I am likely to have for a while. Mitch and I talked about everything but my impending departure (see also, "Denial"). The precipitation subsided. A quick hug because otherwise we'd both have become blubbering fools, and I was off.

Donna, with whom I was on the Omaha Westside Debate Team before Al Gore invented the Internet (kids, we had index cards and used pens to hand write facts on them that we had found in books...crazy!) posted this on Facebook for me. It sums up the experience completely.

 

The drive away from Fort Wayne was in a way very normal - I've driven Highway 30 dozens of times, maybe more - and in a way very weird. I will admit that I shrieked a little between Sweetwater and Columbia City, and a little bit more west of Warsaw (Orthopedic Capital of the World). I don't know that I really am fully processing what's happening. I'll keep you posted about how that works out.

First stop, Chicago, to see Beth. We got caught up, had an early dinner, and I fell asleep during Monday Night Football. In my own defense, so did the Chiefs, and I woke up in time to watch the Steelers win. Still, it was not exactly a late evening because perhaps this is all starting to catch up with me.

More later, of course, but I felt obligated to issue a report on Day One.  Yes, I said obligated - this is a Character Flaw the cure of which is one of the things I hope to accomplish on this little journey.  I'll keep you posted about how that works out, too.