September came early, killing summer like mp3s killed CDs: a slow, painful inevitability. One of my long time friends, Mike, moved to Montana today. Somehow he managed to beat me out the door and it’s laid a heavier layer on the whole thing.

The mp3 reference isn’t totally out of left field either. I’m ripping the last of my CD’s (which I think I’ll just dump in a garbage can to avoid any moral quandaries involving rights and ownership) and stumbled on “Si Tu Savais,” an album by my friend Alex who gave me a copy when I left France. Inside she wrote “Je te laise un peu de ma voix… Tu pourras louer le Seigneur en Francais. Dieu te benisse mon frere… Alex” (I leave you with a little of my voice… you can praise the Lord in French. God bless you brother).

I’ve stumbled on other gifts given to me as I’ve left other places: books, postcards, pictures, T-shirts. It seems in life the seasons leave behind trinkets as they change. I’ve sold everything I own that I won’t be taking with me (including my car, thank God), and am giving the rest to Value Village or the UGM.

It still hasn’t settled in that I’m leaving yet, which makes saying goodbye easier. But it’s starting to. I’ll stop the melancholy soon enough, but now’s a good time to reflect, write some notes, mourn, and pack the bags.

I leave for Texas (via Seattle and Portland) tomorrow, so if you can’t make it to the going away party at 2PM at New Community tomorrow… goodbye I suppose. I may not miss Spokane much, but I’m gonna miss my friends here tremendously.

Filed under: Reflecting by Jay