A Sad Farewell

This is it friends; the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one in the life of Pam Schwartz.  This will be my 14th move in 5 years, 14!  I love having new experiences but I hate moving.  I have lived at least 5 weeks or more at each of these places which has required me to take a fair amount of my things with me.  Luckily my parents are sweet enough to rent me a storage space in their home in exchange for my undying love and devotion.

I haven’t even left yet but I miss my family.  I’m glad I came home at the beginning of this year to nanny the little monsters.  I love them so much and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve almost called grad school off more than once because I know I’m going to be missing so much of their lives.  I’ve been spoiled the last several months getting to go the the basketball games, baseball games, to cry through the first tooth and learning how to walk.  Having close nieces and nephews is just like having your own children because you love them so much you can’t bear to leave them.

I have an amazing network of family and friends and though I know I can pick up a phone and call it’s not the same as walking upstairs into a room full of family and smiling faces.  Sixteen hours away just isn’t the same as 2 or even 5.  My Masters degree will take two years and I always thought I wanted to end up on the east coast, Virginia seemed ideal, but now I’m hoping to be much closer to home.  All three of my siblings and their families are here and I want to be a part of that and an even bigger part of their children’s lives, not to mention wanting my kids to know their cousins and to get to enjoy grandma and grandpa.

I missed time at college because I could no longer walk across the hall, down the apartment complex, or a few blocks to my friends’ places.  Now I’ll miss even being able to drive four, or however many hours to see them.  I would never take back the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on gas driving to see friends because I know I won’t even have that luxury in NJ.  I’m not scared for New Jersey, I know I’ll make plenty of friends and colleagues but they won’t have known me for years.  They don’t know that I don’t like mushrooms, that I love dessert wine, that I like bad horror movies or that popcorn is a perfectly normal supper for me.

This will be an adventure.  I have high hopes for my education and the possible experiences I will have in New Jersey/NYC. So, I bid thee all farewell for now.  This is sappy, if you didn’t like it you would have stopped reading. I love you all and I’ll miss you.  Somebody come visit me, please?