What a whirlwind the last several weeks have been… It’s crazy how we had 12 months to prepare for this big move, but in the end, I think the 5 of us would agree- you’re never REALLY ready to say goodbye.
We spent our last 2 weeks in Greenville living at the new Embassy Suites downtown and we couldn’t help but feel spoiled. It’s not often that you get to feel like visitors in your own city, and it was such a treat to live right downtown and walk to new restaurants, swim in a nice new pool (which we had to ourselves every single time). And dangit- I had no kitchen, so that meant someone else was doing the cooking. No cleaning. After all the organizing, sorting, packing, trips to Goodwill, etc over the last several weeks, it sure was a nice break.
Don’t get me wrong, we had our moments. It’s not easy living with 4 other people (3 of them- wildly energetic boys who only see a trampoline when they look at a hotel bed) in essentially one big room, out of suitcases, etc… Even eating out every single meal gets old after awhile. But knowing we were leaving Greenville soon, we did our best to enjoy every minute and savor the time we had with friends and family.
When we got to the airport, it was time to say goodbye to our family and this was one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do. There’s something about that moment- all of the feelings that had been building over the last year- excitement, fear, sadness, thankfulness, all hit me/us hard in that one moment; it was quite emotional and very tough to turn and walk down that corridor.
At some point as we were walking towards our gate, I must have left my camera on on my phone because the next day, I found this picture….
I couldn’t get over the symbolism and what it represented- Taking these first steps away from our old life and into a new one full of unknown, 4,348 miles away.
The McFadden's French Adventure 