Saying Goodbye

Since we announced our decision to join the Peace Corps in June 2012, our September departure allowed friends and family more than enough time to say goodbye.  We were feted at several events hosted by neighbors, employers, family and community groups.  It got to be a bit embarrassing because newly-minted college graduates from Manchester join and return from the Peace Corps each year with no great recognition.  Because of our age, our decision is a bit of a novelty, and therefore we accepted the many gestures of recognition.

Our plans almost went awry in late July when I suffered considerable pain during a run.  I managed to see a doctor soon thereafter, which led to an MRI within a week and arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee meniscus a week after that. At first, the Peace Corps medical staff said that I would have to wait six months before joining.  Needless to say, that would have placed a very large monkey wrench into our plans to end work and leave home.  We had begun attending goodbye events, and feared that we would be viewed as frauds for accepting all of these plaudits.  Fortunately, my surgery was minor, my surgeon did great work and Peace Corps cleared me to go.

Despite the ample time to prepare to leave, those last few weeks were no less than frantic.  Each of us had to make arrangements for clients.  Our home needed to be prepared for the arrival of two house sitters.  That involved cleaning out our children’s rooms, stripping wallpaper and painting the plaster and trim.  We had to make sure that credit card companies, banks and insurers know about our plans.  We had to make sure all bills would continue to get paid on time.  And finally, we had to make out home look uncluttered and less personal for the peace of mind of our house sitters.  Despite our best efforts, we hadn’t finished before it was time for the first house sitter to move in.  She was quite gracious about it, and permitted us to continue packing and cleaning for the next few days.

            The morning of September 11^th finally came.  We drove to Manchester Airport in tandem with our children and dog.  We said our tearful goodbyes, and then our son drove off in our car and our daughter drove off in hers (with the dog).  It was very hard, but we have come so far and worked so hard to make this dream happen that we had few second thoughts.