It worked out really well that we got to come back to Ithaca for a couple of weeks after our summer in Egypt, and before moving to Dubai. It's been a very carefree time, and we're spending it doing all the things we know we'll miss. Picking blueberries, hiking, camping, playing outside, hanging out with friends. It's been lovely.
It's also very bittersweet. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that this is the last time we'll do many of these things, at least here in Ithaca. There are some things I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to, even in these halcyon days, and it's not entirely rational.
One of the biggest regrets I was having about moving away was that I wouldn't get to participate in the Lake Canandaigua Relay this year (last year's team pictured above). Before the whole Dubai thing came up, I was already thinking about who would be on our team, and how maybe the grandparents would be in town so I wouldn't have to hand off the kids at the exchange points, and whether we wanted to keep the same team name (Ghoti - nerdy linguist, anyone?), and how gorgeous the scenery was going to be. And then, to be leaving Ithaca all of a sudden - I just couldn't get over the fact that I wouldn't be able to do the relay after all.
Then today, I got an email saying the relay has been cancelled. It's run in conjunction with an ultra marathon (as in, people who run the whole relay by themselves) and the organizers apparently decided that that part of the event was getting too big to deal with the relay as well. So they cancelled the relay.
And now it's almost as if the last tie keeping me from being able to really make peace with leaving Ithaca has been broken. I feel so bad for everyone who was able to plan on doing the relay, but so good for me, you know? I have so many good memories from running the relay last year and now I get to hold on to those with my head held high, not worrying about what I'll be missing this year.
Now, if someone could just close down all the awesome state parks here and also make all my friends move away before us and maybe take away some of that gorgeous greenery, that would be great. Then I really wouldn't be sad to leave. Thanks.
It's also very bittersweet. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that this is the last time we'll do many of these things, at least here in Ithaca. There are some things I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to, even in these halcyon days, and it's not entirely rational.
Then today, I got an email saying the relay has been cancelled. It's run in conjunction with an ultra marathon (as in, people who run the whole relay by themselves) and the organizers apparently decided that that part of the event was getting too big to deal with the relay as well. So they cancelled the relay.
And now it's almost as if the last tie keeping me from being able to really make peace with leaving Ithaca has been broken. I feel so bad for everyone who was able to plan on doing the relay, but so good for me, you know? I have so many good memories from running the relay last year and now I get to hold on to those with my head held high, not worrying about what I'll be missing this year.
Now, if someone could just close down all the awesome state parks here and also make all my friends move away before us and maybe take away some of that gorgeous greenery, that would be great. Then I really wouldn't be sad to leave. Thanks.