My Last Week in France

It's early in the morning; I'm up at my computer because my brain is racing and there's no point to trying to sleep anymore. My state of mind is reminiscent of my last month in the States just a year ago. It was just about this time that I had finally told my boss at Fannie Mae that I was quitting my job and moving to France. At this point I had found tenants for my apartment, set up a time to move all my things into storage, and begun a round of good bye lunches and dinners with friends, which would go on until the evening I left Dulles Airport, on August 25th.

Over the past several weeks I have been going through many of the same motions here in Nice. A few weeks ago, the pastor in my church called me forward during the announcements in the service, to thank me for my contributions to the choir at the church and to wish me well (it was lovely to have my sister with me that morning). My mom arrived on Saturday to help me pack and clean my apartment; I have scheduled the walkthrough with the real estate agent for Friday morning - my move-out day. I have had a few good bye dinners with my friends here, including Priscilla (who ironically is in the States during my last week in France!), my choir friends, and some other friends I made during my time here. When I left Washington last year, I was stepping away from over 20 years of living in various communities; I have only been in Nice eleven months, but I have created a community here too, which I will be sad to leave.

But it's time to move on to the next chapter in my life.