I remember when my mom drove me to college; we loaded up the family mini-van with all my stuff, and she dropped me off at the all-male dormitory. She helped me unload my stuff, and then made sure I was safe and ready for the school year to start the next week. But most of all, I remember the feeling when she went away, and I was left alone in my dorm room - the first time I lived alone by myself in my own place. I shut the door and clicked the lock. Mine.
Fast forward thirteen years, and I just moved from San Jose to Alexandria, Virginia. I rented a Ryder truck and filled it with everything I owned in California. My friend David (
annoyinghandle ... what an amazing friend) and I drove two days, first to Elko, Nevada, and then through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Denver, Colorado. I still had a computer desk stored at my parent's place in Parker. The next day, I used Craigslist to find two guys who unloaded the truck and reloaded it with a bunch of furniture from my still-unsold house in Denver.Then, it was my mom again, just like before college, who drove me to my new rented place in DC. It took three days - three looong days driving to St. Louis, then Indianapolis, then Columbus, and finally down to the city. I owe her a lot... my mom is an incredible woman, and I couldn't have done it without her. But there is only one reason I drove 2,070 miles in five days: a new life, a start of a wonderful relationship, and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be someone's and to be someone.
Here is the CD David and I played during the trip, which I thought was appropriate:
