One Week to Go...!

My wife just got home from what I just dubbed "the last real trip to the grocery store" in California. Except, she pointed out, it wasn't even a real trip. Seems like half the stuff she bought was extra stuff to pack away for when we first get to Tennessee. For some reason, Trader Joe's has not see fit to open a store near where we are moving yet...the nerve! :) They've got one in Nashville, but until they open one in the Chattanooga area, we are unlikely to be able to shop at TJ's on a regular basis. So she bought four cans of the TJ's coffee that I like so I wouldn't have to find a new brand right away and she bought a bunch of extra vitamins and supplements that she takes for the same reason--Lord knows we'll have enough to do the first month or two without having to decide what kind of coffee or vitamins we would prefer on an ongoing basis.

Just brings to mind that we are going through a lot of "last time" things lately. Last time we'll go to Ruby's for dinner. Last trip to our regular PetsMart for food (also the same place we've taken our cats for veterinary care). Last time we'll be able to get together with my wife's family for dinner. It brings a feeling of sadness to think that so many things we've gotten used to over the years we are going to lose...we will discover new ways of doing things. That's not necessarily bad, but it does make you mourn for what you are losing.

Hopefully in a few months that feeling of loss will be less and we will be more of a celebratory mood for the new things we gain with our move. I wish we could just take the best of both chapters in our life, but that's just not possible.

On the topic of "what's left to do"...the answer is "way too much." There is a lot of box-packing to be done still and quite a few loose ends to tie up. Every time you think you've settled things, more things pop up. The next week will be a flurry of activity...packing, making phone calls, saying "so long" to friends and family. This weekend begins that in a spectacular way as we go to celebrate Tiki Bar member Keith's birthday...in some ways this will be the first Tiki Bar gathering at one of its new locations: his house.