I have never been so tired in my whole life…
First things first…backing up a bit.
Whatever great time we made on Saturday we lost yesterday as we drove from Richmond, VA to New York City. We ran into traffic that slowed up down. Greg and I passed the time by continuing our Indigo Girl’s marathon. As we passed through Delaware, New Jersey and couple other states we sang along to our favorite songs. Greg and I also laughed…A LOT. Greg’s friendship and contagious laughter are medicines for my soul.
We finally got into NYC just after 4 pm and started moving in around 4:30. The apartment, though small, seemed so much smaller when all of our boxes started making their way up the four flights. Thanks to the genius of my friend Damon who shared his insight that all three of us shouldn’t have to walk all 4 flights of stairs - we split up. Greg got boxes from the truck to the building’s foyer, Damon from the 1st floor to the 3rd and me from the 3rd into the apartment. We traded off locations and took breaks from time to time and were finished at 9:30.
When I finally shut my door my body surrendered. Greg and I hadn’t eaten since we left Richmond, VA and our body’s were spent. Our legs and hands shook violently. We forced ourselves to make the trek down the steps one more time to get food. My first meal in NYC - McDonald’s which is less than a block away. Food never tasted so good.
We got back to the apartment and began the process of moving boxes around enough to set up my bed in my bedroom and the air mattress in the living room. Once our heads hit the pillows - we were out.
We were up at 6:30 this morning to return the rental truck in Long Island City in Queens. We walked 7 blocks to the train and I rode with Greg out to the end of the E so he could catch a AirTrain to JFK airport.
It was very hard to say goodbye to Greg. He’s one of my closest and dearest friends. He his constant support and encouragement were a driving force behind the trip. He has been with me through so many stages of this journey that it wasn’t until I was hugging him goodbye that I realized how much I will miss him.
I returned to the apartment and started moving some boxes around to try and make something in the space make sense. I talked to my brother and then to Elizabeth and gave them an update. As I was talking to Elizabeth I mentioned that I could use a nap.
I hung up and decided to close my eyes.
I woke up 5 hours later. Everything...the move, the goodbyes, the dreams, the fears - it all caught up with me.
But I can say, after years of dreams and months of planning...I’m a New Yorker.
