A Fond Farewell

As I sit here in an empty Social Studies classroom at Greenwood High School (empty because it is the prep period of the teacher for whom I am subbing), I have the chance to think back about the last six months of my life--the time period I have spent in this southern suburb of Indianapolis, sharing a small rented house with my wife of now one year and our dog and two cats.

It has been an interesting transitional period. Transitional because, as of this Saturday, we will be packing up what few belongings we have, along with tres animales, and heading out on our two-day drive to our new beginning in Stuart, Florida (that includes a Saturday night stay-over with my sister at her new home in Georgia). It didn't start out to be transitional--my wife, who just last year became the head of adult reference at Greenwood Public Library, figured we would have about three to four years here before we headed south. But a number of factors fell into place: 1) I couldn't find regular, full-time employment here; 2) her library became embroiled in some financial issues; and 3) the Florida job opened up and she applied, pretty much on a whim.

With the reality of our move finally settling completely in, I am excited (to say the least) about this adventure. After all, I have nothing binding me to this state. My mother passed away last October and is laid to rest with her parents; my sister is now in Georgia; my house in South Bend is safely rented to some friends who I know are taking good care of it; and, as I stated before, I have no job to leave (not that I have ever had trouble leaving a job in the past). Kendra, on the other hand, is dealing with a whole complex of mixed emotions: her family, whom she is very close to, are all in the area, and she has never lived more than three hours away; her friends are also all in this area (unlike mine, who are scattered all about the country); and she still likes her job and place of work, despite the recent challenges it has faced.

It has been a mostly good six months. I have discovered a lot of nice things about this area that I never knew when I lived on the northside and downtown Indy. Greenwood is a very friendly community with a lot of good people; it is easy to get around; and it has some great local places to shop and eat. One of its best features is its Community Center, a gathering place and no-frills gym that residents can join and have unlimited access to (during open hours, of course) for only $50 per year. I know I have gotten my money's worth out of the place, and the treadmills and weight machines have kept me from ballooning up over the winter months. The schools here are very good, too, as I have learned from subbing in them--great teachers, and the bulk of the students are serious about learning.

So as we close out this first chapter in our lives, I will look back fondly upon these few months; despite the few frustrations I've encountered, it has been a good ride. Thank you, Greenwood.