Saying Goodbye in Order to Say Hello

Oy. One of the hardest parts about making a choice to do something – like dating in every state – was that when I said yes to adventure, I was inevitably setting myself up to also saying goodbye.

Before I get to the fun part of all this – dolling up, dating, and forcing Megan to listen to “Call Me Maybe” until she can harmonize with me while singing the lyrics correctly – I have to bid adieu to the coworkers I’ve spent over a year plugging away with and the company I’ve helped grow in terms of content. On top of all that, there are cheerios to make to my own business (well, not entirely, but to a lot of the work I normally do), my phenomenal roommate who makes me happy to go home every day, and the familiarities of banalities in my daily life. And if there’s one thing I’m willing to admit I’m bad at, it’s saying goodbye.

And it’s not just the typical mal-adapted adios we all feel with a surprising break-up or when our rabbit is nibbled on by a coyote. I’m famous for not telling coworkers I’m leaving so I don’t have to face the final moment together, or feeling lachrymose and mopey for days after the final lecture of a class during a semester. Sometimes I don’t finish books because I can’t bear not to know the characters anymore (true story – I have yet to finish a Michael Chabon novel).

Thankfully, at the end of all those Ciao, bellas lay one heck of a lot of Hello, happy to know yous.(At least fifty.) I’ve got one hell of a lot of greetings and farewells laying ahead of me the in next few months. Perhaps the first thing I’m going to learn on this adventure is how to rock the Hasta la vista, baby!

Or not.

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