Almost There

Deep breath...
All 6 suitcases are packed and all of them are overweight, but hopefully right at the limit for overweight luggage.
Dave and I were a super duper team this morning, and with his spearheading, we repacked most of the suitcases to make almost everything fit.
We only had to surrender a few unimportant, old or replaceable items.
It's all just stuff, really.
It's strange to think that we have even more stuff in a storage space in Cincinnati, and that we aren't going to see any of it for quite a while.
I feel so little attachment to any of it - except my old reliable Teddy packed in a box of toys somewhere deep within storage.
Already so many people have offered us furniture and household things for what will be our home in San Francisco.
A wealth of abundance surrounds us.
Four of Dave's fellow students came over this afternoon and cleaned our apartment from top to bottom, so we can leave it presentable for the next tenant, and not have to pay extra to have it cleaned.
We have just enough food in the fridge for scrambled eggs and broccoli for dinner, and some snacks for the plane.
Our Internet service will be cancelled once we're gone, and the van driver has confirmed that he'll be picking us up at 2:15am tonight to head to the airport.
My list of "Israel To-Do's" is all done.
Dave is watching Mary Poppins and eating popcorn with Dahlia.
We'll have our baths and showers, eat dinner, maybe get a little sleep, then we're on our way.
Phew...

It's been raining since last night, which makes the construction site outside our window look especially daunting and massive.
I won't miss that view, even if the YMCA and King David Hotel are just behind, looking much more lovely.
The jackhammer gave us our final sendoff - I won't miss that either.
It's time to go.

Last night at HUC, Dave's fellow students and some of the staff gave us a beautiful healing ceremony and sendoff.
I cried through most of it, and so did Dave.
Taking in all the love and good energy.
Feeling like I was sitting in between the bookends of that experience and what we experienced when we left the Bay Area.
Community on either end, holding us, praying for us, loving us.
I resisted getting attached to this place and its people for the first few months I was here.
But eventually you become attached no matter where you are, and there are such good people everywhere.
I felt it when I had shingles, and people showed such concern and brought us meals.
I have felt it tremendously the past few weeks with all this community has done for us.
We wouldn't have made it without them, at least not with most of our sanity and health intact.

Dave and Dahlia seem to be on the mend, and hopefully the flight won't be too much on their congested sinuses.
Dahlia got a beautiful melancholy sendoff at her school, from all of her friends and teachers.
She's been emotional the past week, but she is getting through it with her strength, patience, and a lot of support from her parents.
We are ready to go, and it feels good, it feels like time.
We'll see many of you soon.