Almost Ready

For the past few months, people have been asking me, "Brandon, are you ready for the move yet?"  Sometimes, they meant logistically, as in, "Do you have a place to live yet?" So I would generally respond positively, because I really have been ready to go since I found that place.  Most times however, they meant emotionally, to which my reply has been a simple H-naw! I haven't been ready at all! I have so many friends and family here in Chicagoland....how could I ever be ready for that!

Yesterday, I had a huge goodbye party at my house.  Admittedly, I was a little stressed about it at first, because it started to rain, and we all had to stay in the garage, lest my house become a mud filled cave suitable for no one to live...except like, Gollum.  We weren't prepared on time, and I had a lot of work I had to do.  And I had to have a lot of patience, because it's been running thin lately, with my emotions running high. 

This is where I'd like to thank the Lord.  My dad and I prayed in the car before we left to run errands for the party.  Particularly, I prayed for patience.  And dang.  The Lord provided, because I didn't turn into a diva (see here) when my dad told me to sweep the deck and do other things I deemed useless.  Thanks to dad for putting up with me, and thanks to the Lord for patience!

So we had the party.  And it was awesome.  It rained a whole bunch, but people still came! FORTY-ONE OF THEM.  Seriously, watch me entertain and be an awesome host:

Look, I'm the life of the party.  And a bro.  See the jersey?

Watch me spread the joy!

Broski's to my left.

Broski's back over here.

My friends are absolutely insane.  And I love them.  We had a notebook for people to sign and leave notes, we played games, did the reverse rain dance, ate tons of awesome food, took pictures, and crammed into that little space known as my garage.  And it was awesome.

I said goodbye a lot, too.

It hurt a lot, knowing that I wasn't going to see a lot of these people very much after yesterday.  I'm going to miss them fiercely.  But the party also brought me some closure, and I feel a lot more peace about leaving now.  I know I've got a little more packing and errands to do, but you know what, I think I'm almost ready to go...almost!  And I better be...I leave in 3 days!