Almost ready for take-off

It has been a week of good-byes, and many wishes for fair winds. I got some great news that friend Sloth will ride with me to Muskegon and see me off at the ferry. I closed on the house this morning, and the buyers closed this afternoon. This was unexpected to me. Both previous times when I purchased, buyers and sellers were present at the same time. This worked out fine except that I had made a grooming appointment for Remy in Kalamazoo at 7:30 this morning, and when my agent managed to secure a coveted time for our closing it was at 9:00 a.m. SO, I took Remy to Kalamazoo, drove back for the closing, returned to Kalamazoo, and then back to Grand Rapids. I had loaded up my car with things that needed to be dropped off and delivered, and I spent the afternoon doing things like taking stuff to Goodwill, picking up an errant house key, taking legal papers to the City Water Department so they would take the water/sewer out of my name, picking up the check for the house ... so many things that I forgot to go to work at Grand Rapids Ballet at 4:30. I didn't even realize until Mindy texted me asking if I was on my way. And when I finally got there, they had planned a surprise farewell, which I totally messed up by being a half hour late! Way to go out with a bang!

On my way to see my East Congregational Choir friends last night, I had a thought that I have been living in a Grand Rapids sit-com for a long time, and now I'm going off on my own spin-off, and when I return most, if not all, of the characters I've come to know will still be here -- and I'll be able to continue to follow their lives through the magic of digital media!

I've also been thinking about how I started out to do this journey for me, because it if I'm going to profess the clarity of the still small voice, I need to follow it; but now I see how inspiring it is to so many people around me, even those who think I'm completely nuts. I see people's expectations of themselves in how they respond to the news that I am going; and I realize that, if I can help people to take some important risks in their lives and to let go of attachments, I can do this for more than just myself. At the same time, there are many people who go on lengthy bicycling treks each year. What I'm doing is, I think, only special to those who know me and see themselves in me.

I'd better get to work. The plan is to get the car and bike packed tonight, disburse everything else tomorrow, turn the car over to Tayler around noon, and spend the night at Sue's. 9:00 a.m. is planned departure time on Sunday. The ferry leaves at 4:45, and I need to board around 4:00. I have Rescue Remedy for Remy, and I tried it on the Kalamazoo trek today. I was amazed at what a difference it made in his behavior. I'm glad to have it.

Thank you, thank you, to everyone who has wished me well. You will all be in my heart as I travel on.

Oh, and some people have asked about the technical aspects of the ride, so I will talk about equipment and set-up in an upcoming post.