In Two Days......

Where one chooses to reside, there is also a community in which you reside in. Living in a community for most of your life holds a certain fondness and attachment that makes it hard to think about relocating and leaving what is dear to you and your life behind. I thought about that this morning as I left for work in the early morning hours.

The community and the places you chose to do business with become more that just a place to stop and spend your money, they become a part of your life and the people who own/work there become a part of you. One of my favorite places on the east side is the little corner donut shop. The sweet little family that owns that shop are precious to me and very special. From a certain fault of my own, being I don't cook breakfast during the week, they know my husband and I very well and in fact, know what we always want before we walk through the door. The little lady that runs the counter several years ago got the idea in her head that I drove a school bus. Now, where she got that I don't really know, but at first, I tried to tell her I did not drive a school bus, but alas, she never really understood that I did not! So for the past several years, when it is time for school to start in the fall, she always wants to talk about the kids and the bus. I learned to just go with it! I drive a school bus, at least in her eyes and if you don't think I won't miss this little shop and the sweet folks that own it, I most certainly will. I have not told them we are moving....I'm not sure I could get the words out to tell them.....I don't like goodbyes.

There are a few other locally owned places I frequent and when you walk through the door, it feels like home. The Barber Shop is another special place to me, as we have spend years and years walking through those doors. The kids got haircuts there, we got haircuts there, Steve still gets haircuts there. The family that owns it is like family to us. The know and have known all our ups and downs through the years and just driving by the shop brings warm memories to mind. This place is so hard to think of leaving behind, I don't really believe we will. I know Steve will still drive up here for haircuts. Some places and people are etched so deeply in your heart, you can't just walk away.

The convenience of where the places we frequent are located, being less than five minutes away is something I will miss as well. Dora, my dachshund is always getting her self into situations where we need a vet...and need one quickly. We have a great vet just a few blocks away, and if I call and need to take one of my dogs in there, they are quick and get them in right away. The vet loves my Sophie...and calls her Sophia....I will miss having that convenience and comfort knowing they are so close when I need them. I love that vet's office and its staff. I could go on and on about the places I will miss here on the East Side of Ft. Worth....there are a lot of those special places on this side of town and the fact that they are so close to where I have lived was always a plus.

Another big part of the community you live in are the friends and special people who live there as well. A very special family member lives five minutes away, one who is always there when you need her or even if you don't. So close she can drop by, or you can drop by there, even if it does not happen a lot, I know that they are so close if we or she needs something. I will miss knowing she is that close to me when we leave. So much so, I have not thought about it for very long, for it weighs heavy on my heart. I have some very dear and cherished friends who have been a huge part of my life. The deep, meaningful friendships with people who have been by your side when you needed them the most. The friend that knows your deepest and darkest secrets and does not judge you for them. They love you any way....I know I will carry the friendships with me, but knowing that I won't be close enough for them to just stop by and visit for a second weighs heavy on my heart. There is just something about a friends stopping by for just a second and then spending a summer evening talking in the front yard for over an hour. Or the friend who will stop by and bring her daughter and granddaughter to "see the chickens" out of the blue....oh, I will miss these times. These are the friends who have shared so much of of my life with, sat at weekend garage sales with, planned events for social and personal reasons with, the ones who have always been at arms length on any given day, the ones who if you are in need of any thing, they will drop what they are doing to help in any way they can. In fact, I have one dear friend, who I was convinced she contacted the church and had the bells tole one last time, just for me....she denies that, but she is that kind of friend who would do a thing like that. I can hardly think about not living among my friends in this community. I know the road to a friends house is never long.....but it is a lot longer than five minutes away.

I'm almost completely packed, we sign the papers and begin a new journey, leaving behind all I have known to be dear to my heart.....in two days.....