The big day has arrived.

I couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night, despite how hard I tried. My restless mind just won’t stop, even for a few minutes. There’s yet so much to do, and even looking so optimistically toward my future, it’s hard to contemplate leaving the area I grew up.

I spent much of the day packing with the assistance of my mother. Everything that is going, either when my car is shipped, or later via ground transport, has been placed into a box. With the exception of my more ’summery’ clothing, there’s not much left that hasn’t been packed. I’m travelling literally with the clothes on my back.

For once in my life I think I’m making an overly intelligent decision. Rather than take the plunge, as the old cliché says, I’ll be spending the next four weeks in a hotel. It’s much safer for me, if you will. Granted, I see no reason preventing me from staying in Colorado, but leasing an apartment, and transferring other entitlements, like driving licence, bank accounts, and so on come with an inherent degree of risk. What if I don’t like Colorado? What if I don’t like the job? The company? Or worse, what if they don’t like me? Tethering myself to a contractual obligation, like a lease, is one burden I don’t want to have until I’ve fully made up my mind about the situation. If I had to leave, I’d have to break that obligation, and deal with the negative ramifications that come with it.

A month should be long enough to gauge things and come to an ultimate decision.

When my flight takes to the skies at 8:00am this morning, I’ll be leaving the state. For good. Enjoying family time tonight almost brought me to tears. During my free time, I called many friends and colleagues, and said my good-byes. I’m not one to make a big deal out of this. I know I’ll see them again. It’s not like I’m attempting to disappear. I’m just moving. And I’ll be back. To visit. And vacation — in Florida. The thought of vacationing in Florida still hasn’t quite sunk in. After all, I live here, right? At least for the next 2 hours.

Since I’m flying my favourite carrier, I have my obligatory layover in Dallas/Fort Worth, and I’ll probably spend that time going through my to-do and check lists, making sure things are in order. There’s quite a bit left to wrap up in Florida, and my mother has been gracious enough to help me with them. As I learned over the past few weeks, you never really know how much junk you have until you sort through it.

Once I’m in Colorado Springs, I’ll be heading to my hotel to unpack, get settled, and then walk around the neighbourhood for a bit to see what’s there. I’m staying literally next to my new office, so my ‘commute’ in the morning will be minimal, save some potential foot traffic. Of course, that will only be temporary, I suppose, as my car should arrive from Florida this coming weekend. I begin my new career on Tuesday.

After my evaluation period is over, and I ultimately decide to lease an apartment, the boxes that have been packed will be shipped, and I’ll officially declare myself a resident of Colorado. At that point, I’ll be busier than ever, having to deal with all of the tasks associated with relocation. Furniture shopping, decorating and bargain hunting all spring to mind. I hope my hotel gets HGTV!

To my friends in Florida who I was unable to reach today, and throughout the week, goodbye. I’ll miss each and every one of you. You’ve all touched me in ways I’ll never forget, and taught me lessons I’ll never be able to repay you for. Don’t consider this farewell. Instead, consider it so long, for now. I’ll be back, and I sincerely hope you’ll come to visit me, too.

Towards excellence together,

Jaron