Lift-off

So this is it, then. I'm down to my last two hours in Maryland (as a resident, anyway). What is not done will not get done before I leave and must be let go. I made one last trip to my former place of employment to say some goodbyes (they were getting really sick of seeing me). I'm doing some cleaning. My bags are packed.

It is an interesting phenomenon that when preparing for a big event like a trip, or a move, or even a wedding, the stress level can ramp up dramatically. But when the time comes for the plans to be put into action, it all melts away. Once events are out of your control, one can relax and see how it all turns out.

I'm off to Chicago today to meet up with Sweetie and the Things. We will have dinner with an old friend from my alma mater and his wife. Tomorrow we will do some touristy things downtown.

Now I'm sorry to be geeky, but a sojourn of this magnitude and import must be christened with suitably meaningful words, and I can think of none better than Frodo's traveling song from Fellowship of the Ring:

The Road goes ever on and on
     Down from the door where it began.
   Now far ahead the Road has gone,
     And I must follow, if I can,
   Pursuing it with eager feet,
     Until it joins some larger way
   Where many paths and errands meet.
     And whither then? I cannot say.