If I could pick a day to live in forever, it wouldn’t be today.
We moved Brett to his new home in Nashville today and we’ve known that today was going to happen for about four months now, but it still seems like it came out of nowhere. Even when we were painting last week I somehow had not yet fully acknowledged that he was really leaving. For the last 7 years he’s never been more than 10 miles away (and was about 3 miles away for 5 of those) , so 45 feels a little bit like the other side of the ocean.
The fact that it was definitely time for him to leave Murfreesboro does make it easier. He has outgrown this place and now he has a bigger territory to conquer.
Still, it took me by surprise when I walked into a completely undecorated living room that has always felt like a second home to me. As his bedroom slowly emptied I started thinking about the day I helped him paint it while Hoodwinked played on the tv. Which in turn reminded me of the countless times we’ve randomly quoted that movie.
When I pulled out of the parking lot with a car full of 27 computers and monitors it hit me that Brett Perkins no longer lives in Murfreesboro. Murfreesboro is my home and it’s different now. It’s like someone took a huge frame off the wall and all that’s left is the outline of where it used to be.
I know this is a necessary step. Change is important, and I can take solace in knowing that the only reason it makes me sad is because it’s something worth missing.
Don’t be sad because it’s over, smile because it happened.
