And so the good-byes begin

Wow. It's really starting to hit me that we are moving in 2 weeks. It's not because my house looks any different that it did before we sold it. No, it still feels like my house. It's not because I have been frantically trying to pack my house up while keeping 3 small people from unpacking everything. No, people are going to pack our house up for us. So what is it that has made moving a reality for me? It's the start of the "lasts".

Just last night I attended my "last" Covenants Committee meeting. I've been on the Covenants Committee for my community for the past almost year and a half. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to give back to my hometown in a small way. We meet the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. At these meetings we review the various applications for exterior home modifications that homeowners have applied for. Now, there are some people who really balk at having to ask "permission" to be able to do something to their home. They figure, they are paying the mortgage, why do they have to ask permission to make changes to their "castle". Well, I'm a big fan of Covenants and rules. I enjoy living in a neighborhood where I can feel confident that my next door neighbor won't paint his front door purple - or if he does, he'll be made to change it back! The standards that each of us signed up for when we bought our homes are what keep our property values up. They are what makes it nice to drive around the neighborhood. There are standards in most areas of our lives, and I was glad to have been a part of this committee whose job it is to help people make our community the best it can be. For those people who think we are Nazis out to squash them, here's what I have to say - there are lovely pieces of land that you can purchase somewhere else. There was nothing hidden from you about the standards of this neighborhood. You signed on the dotted line - nobody made you do it.

Okay, just had to get that off my chest. I know it was a little off topic, but it's one of those pet peeves of mine.

Last night was a regular meeting. We had the usual suspects - people wanting to build decks, patios, landscape their lawns. Nothing out of the ordinary. We also had the usual folks come through for a hearing - people who just didn't get around to mowing their lawn all summer and couldn't understand why they were being faulted for chest-high weeds, people who let their animals defecate all over the neighborhood and can't be bothered to pick it up, and chauvinistic Germans who won't be bothered to look at the women in the meeting but will only talk to the men. You know, a normal meeting. Until the end of the evening. When my fellow committee members brought out a cake and a card and thanked me for sitting on the committee with them. They all told me it was a pleasure working with them and that they would miss me. Now, I've seen a few people leave the committee since I joined, and we haven't had a "party" for any of them. Maybe I have touched a few lives. I'd like to think so. I'd like to think I've made their worlds a little happier for having known me. I'd like to think that I might have inspired one or two of them to pursue their faith a little deeper. I know that I'm grateful for having been a part of this group, and I know it's only going to get harder to say good-bye to the rest of my friends.

Tomorrow - farewell evening with the Fosses. This one is going to be a killer. Preparing myself for lots of tears.