My bags are packed.  My belongings on a truck that will meet me in a week.  Until then, I’ll be sleeping on the Aero Bed in the heat, living out of a suitcase, without furniture, but with the ones I love: The Lineman & The Suitor.  We’ll be figuring out how to use our GPS system and learn the difference between MOPAC and the rest of the highways.  Or are they freeways out there? 

As for goodbyes, my friends don’t see it as that.  "You’re going on an extended vacation," they said.  "I promise to call you from Brandy’s and hold up the phone so you can hear Air Supply’s All Out of Love."  "Well, you’re coming back in May for a wedding, and then in June for another wedding, and late July for book tour."

"Yes, I’m easing my way in."  But I will miss.  The hardest part was hearing my friends make plans to get together without me.  Even harder, "Shit, now I’m going to be the freak pushing the refresh button on your blog, watching, like a stranger, a life you’re living that I’m no longer a part of.  You’ll be writing about a life I don’t know."   I’m scared we’ll fall out of touch, that I’ll miss out on their stories, now that we can no longer grab that drink.  I made them promise to IM, text, email, and call with any updates. 

"Come on, sweetheart… "  It’s The Suitor.  "It’s time to go."