Leaving Home

Why is it that it feels like you wait forever to do something but when that time actually comes, the event passes with such speed that is leaves you wondering how it has occurred already? I’m back on an airplane, high above Nova Scotia, about to cross the Atlantic Ocean (again), heading towards a place that I now call home but doesn’t exactly feel that way yet. Will it ever get any easier to leave behind family and friends and travel the 4,600 miles between Atlanta, GA, my “real” home, and my new home in Germany? Somehow I don’t feel like it will. While our departure this afternoon did not start by me waking up in tears this morning, they certainly came when I first said goodbye to my brother and then again when my parents dropped us at the curb at the airport. And again in the check in line, the security line, the Crown Room, the gate, and several times since we have been on the plane. I feel like I will probably be ok once we land in Germany and make our way back to the hotel but the sadness I am feeling right now really sucks.

The wedding weekend festivities were great. We couldn’t have asked for better weather (90 degrees in July IS considered mild!) or a better party! I survived my toast on Friday evening and even got to enjoy the perfect sunset overlooking the Atlanta skyline. The food was good, the drinks were cold, and the company was awesome. When you know a grand total of perhaps 15 people in a new place, knowing all 175 guests over the course of the weekend was quite a treat.

The wedding day went off without a hitch and even seemed to pass quickly regardless of the 7:30pm start time. Like I said earlier, 90 degrees at 5:30pm in July for outdoor pictures was bearable. I was just happy to be home. The reception was a party I will not soon forget. It was so much fun to catch up with our friends and family who we have been away from for 4 months. The band was a blast and it can be confirmed by my mother who really got to “shake her tail feathers” with the mother of the Groom, on stage in front of all the guests. Sorry mom, but the word was going to get out anyways! Pictures to come! Waking up on Sunday morning was not nearly as pleasant as waking up on any other day of the week!

And here we are. It is currently Monday evening (already Tuesday where we are heading) and Deaner and I are making the long journey home. We were even able to meet up with Deaner’s dad in the Crown Room because he had a flight to NYC shortly after we left. It was nice to get another short visit in after our dinner together last night. We got to eat at Outback for dinner one last time and enjoyed our last Mexican food for awhile at lunch today. I know I have so many things on the horizon to look forward to but I can’t help feeling sad leaving behind everyone and everything that I love in Atlanta. Even Deaner said earlier that despite his hatred of smog, traffic and crowds, he feels like Atlanta is where we will eventually call home again. I really hope so.

Steph will be waiting for us when we land in Frankfurt in about 5 ½ hours. We are eternally grateful not to have to take the train after traveling for nearly 12 hours. At least we have a few friends in Germany that look out for us! Back to the land of no ice, no refills, $6 diet cokes, people who chain smoke, and where you can’t talk on your cell phone when you drive. I suppose I should be fair and say that it is also back to good beer, great wine, stunning architecture and our exciting new life together! I’ll post again tomorrow, after a little nap, and I promise to post some wedding pictures. I made sure to put them on my computer before I left! Hope everyone is already having a good week!