The whole family was up late last night, making last minute plans, packing up party food, tablecloths, serving utensils, and memorabilia for display in the reception room. There were still a few odds and ends that needed to be grabbed this morning, but for the most part, we were set. We just had to wake early and dress up so we looked nice in pictures, at the front of the room where we all gathered to take the last leaps, toward the next phase in our lives. We all had butterflies in our stomachs, but a little of that might have been due to us all skipping breakfast. We were too nervous, too ready to walk into our new lives, and close the door behind us. I led the parade of the family, and we sat in the front row of the audience. My man stood at the front of the room, and let his boss wax poetic about his hard work, his dedication, his outstanding achievements. He deserved every kind word, and every sweetly teasing remark. He did work hard, for twenty years now. The kids and I were there to back him up every step of the way. And now, we said our goodbyes. The man played a slide show and made a speech that made pretty much every single person in the room tear up (especially when he quoted something that our younger daughter said when she was three years old that made all the difference in the world to how and why this job was so important to us all).
And that's it. Tomorrow morning, he can sleep late. And he can do it again on Sunday. And Monday. And maybe by the end of next week, his little Zoe will realize she's safe. Her human is not going to spend long days away from her anymore (except maybe a few camping trips up to his mountain property--then she'll have to deal with that mommy she only tolerates when she has to). We won't be dealing with extended business trips any more. No more year and a half separations. No more last minute trips, no more sixteen hour workdays. If I'm honest with myself, we will probably still be nomads. But our calculus on how we choose places to live in will change from here on out.
The whole day has been a party. We went to a fancy restaurant for lunch downtown (and waited a ridiculous amount of time for a table to seat all ten of us). We drove around, looking at the sights. The man received multiple gifts of good Scotch (aw, darn our bad luck). And we spent the evening talking about the state of the world and arguing politics for fun. And then, when we were all tired, and it was half a day too late to do anything about it, the man looked through the pictures of the day on his good camera. The light in the reception hall was terrible, and not a single picture was clear or well lit. Not one. We have to rely on our memories of the day. Oddly enough, I think today was so singularly spectacular, we will all be able to do that. It was beautiful.
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