Preparing to Start a New Life
I just dropped off a couple of my better suits and my trenchcoat at the dry cleaners. I will need them for the (hopefully) upcoming job interviews after I get to Florida.
I am sorting through my things, doing laundry, and basically deciding what I will take with me and what I will leave behind. As I am doing this, it's a sad thing. I am leaving my life behind. I am leaving my girlfriend of seven years, my home, my friends, everything. I am going to Florida to start a new life in a new place. Well, ok, I did a lot of my growing up in Florida, but I have been away for a long time now, so in essence it's a new place.
I will only be taking what will fit in my car, so I have to decide what is worth allowing the space, and what must remain. It's a more difficult chore than I thought it would be. My suits and such are a no brainer, as I will need them at least for interviews and such. Other, more personal things are more difficult. Strange the sentimental attachments one has with regard to objects.
Not so much the object itself, but what they mean. How I came to have them, who gave them to me. The vacation trip we took when I bought it. Things like that. How does one decide what is important enough to take? I am going about it in a practical manner. Functionality and usefullness, but it is still sad to rake over one's life in this manner. Especially when leaving behind a life that, overall, has been quite happy despite the troubles along the way.
I plan to leave for Florida towards the end of the week. Thursday or Friday, I think. With my bad back I know I can't make the drive in one shot, and I'm not really going to be in a hurry anyway. I have planned my trip with two overnight stops along the way, one right about the NC/SC border, and the other in northern FLA. Both camp grounds have good facilities i.e bath houses, food, and a bar to drown my sorrows 
While it is the start of a new chapter in this thing called life, and should be exciting, I can't help but be melancholy about the chapter that is rapidly drawing to a close.