The long goodbye
I guess the official farewell tour started on January 31st. A house party up in Boca, where I got to drink wine and dance to old school merengue songs. Then there was the Superbowl party in Ft. Lauderdale. A week of packing and tracking down my final paycheck. The final Bru's Room Monthly Rap Session, refreshing as always, yet bittersweet and surprisingly deep. That's when it all started to get real, and I knew I was truly leaving. I also vowed to take some of South Florida with me back to Jersey. How exactly that will work is the mystery, but I think it's more of a state of mind (and a willingness to party) than anything else. My Relo-Cube arrived on Thursday. My sister helped me move my bed and wardrobe on Saturday. Saturday night was the surprise going-away party thrown by the work crew. Yesterday I loaded the rest of my stuff. And loaded. And loaded. After a a few trips to Walmart and a near disaster with a rachet tie-down, it was done. Today I said goodbye to my store. Tonight is dinner at Chili's (another surprise, but for someone else). Tomorrow I'm going to the beach (I have to soak up as much sunshine as possible), tomorrow night is dinner with my sister.
Wednesday morning I'l load up my car and start heading north, ending my 19 month adventure here in South Florida.
I know that I am and will always be a Jersey girl. It's going to be nice to go home and be with my parents and friends again. I'll have easy access to all the food that I have been desperately missing, I'll get to go to NYC on a regular basis, I won't have to hyperventilate over hurricanes anymore (unless South Florida takes a direct hit - then I'll have to worry about all of my friends), and I won't have strangers invading my personal space.
On the other hand, for all the bitching and moaning that I have done, I will truly miss this crazy place. I'll miss the palm trees and endless sunshine. I'll miss the friends that I've made. I will really miss the Super Target (I'm only half joking about that). There's just a laid back type of feeling about this place that I'm really going to miss when I'm scraping ice off of my car at 6 in the morning, knowing that I'm going to be late for work. I will also miss Cuban time.
I was invited to a party by a friend. She said, "Come by around 6:30. No, wait, you're gringa. Come by at 8:00."
The creepy little Muscovy ducks don't creep me out as much anymore. They're a lot less obnoxious than geese, and they don't fly into jet engines. The geckos and frogs don't phase me. I'm used to the birds that make all sorts of crazy noises.
I was planning to leave all of this behind, just not so soon.
I came to South Florida as a Jersey girl who was completely out of her element. I will leave South Florida as a Jersey girl with just enough South Florida mixed in to make life a little bit more fun.
And who knows? Maybe I'll be back someday, already ahead of the learning curve, ready to really and truly embrace all that this place has to offer. It's already at the top of the list of places I'd like to retire to. When (or if) I actually get to a point to really retire. :)
Wednesday morning I'l load up my car and start heading north, ending my 19 month adventure here in South Florida.
I know that I am and will always be a Jersey girl. It's going to be nice to go home and be with my parents and friends again. I'll have easy access to all the food that I have been desperately missing, I'll get to go to NYC on a regular basis, I won't have to hyperventilate over hurricanes anymore (unless South Florida takes a direct hit - then I'll have to worry about all of my friends), and I won't have strangers invading my personal space.
On the other hand, for all the bitching and moaning that I have done, I will truly miss this crazy place. I'll miss the palm trees and endless sunshine. I'll miss the friends that I've made. I will really miss the Super Target (I'm only half joking about that). There's just a laid back type of feeling about this place that I'm really going to miss when I'm scraping ice off of my car at 6 in the morning, knowing that I'm going to be late for work. I will also miss Cuban time.
I was invited to a party by a friend. She said, "Come by around 6:30. No, wait, you're gringa. Come by at 8:00."
The creepy little Muscovy ducks don't creep me out as much anymore. They're a lot less obnoxious than geese, and they don't fly into jet engines. The geckos and frogs don't phase me. I'm used to the birds that make all sorts of crazy noises.
I was planning to leave all of this behind, just not so soon.
I came to South Florida as a Jersey girl who was completely out of her element. I will leave South Florida as a Jersey girl with just enough South Florida mixed in to make life a little bit more fun.
And who knows? Maybe I'll be back someday, already ahead of the learning curve, ready to really and truly embrace all that this place has to offer. It's already at the top of the list of places I'd like to retire to. When (or if) I actually get to a point to really retire. :)
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