Teary Goodbye from Boston - by Daniel

Good-bye party hosted by
Nora, Tricia and Chuck

Our friend Chuck discovered that the swimming fins (a necessity for a road trip!) fit nicely under the back seat and that the far back seats folded into the wheel well. With the gained space, we stuffed everything into our minivan…and then some more. We’d already bickered about what to take and not take. The bickering and the

cleaning kept the feelings about leaving at bay. When we’d finally slammed the rear gate against loose odds and ends, the leaving was real. Our wonderful Hampstead Road friends who’d been scrubbing our fridge in a last dash to leave, hooted goodbyes. By the time we looped around our hill to head out, all four of us were crying. Stella panted.

As we made the first turn heading south, we felt the joy of the connections and the sadness of a widening distance. The girls’ sadness didn’t take but a moment to turn into anger. “I hate you. Why are you making us go to Mexico? What a dumb idea.” When we hit nasty traffic on 95, Sabina begged, “we’re going to miss the ferry anyway. Just let me have one more night with my friends. One more night. I beg of you.” I just about turned back. I hated to break her heart. By the time we hit the giant fly on top of the exterminator business just outside of Providence – one of the kids’ favorite landmarks - their sobs had muffled and they both were asleep, emotionally and physically exhausted. Tyler and I held hands. We made the ferry but we left an amazing community behind.