I am not an emotional person...ok...so, I'm a very emotional person and just don't like to be. As I run errands, attend church, spend time with friends and visit with my neighbors I leave each person the same I always have, as if I'm going to see them tomorrow. I don't like long extended good-byes, they make me cry. I don't like to cry, so I don't want to say good-bye. I realize, as the reality of my departure sets in, that I've been mysteriously absent when many of my friends have bid farewell. Now I am the one bidding farewell and there is no escaping it.
7 years ago Jacksonville (and her people) opened her arms to a young couple. She offered the first opportunity to make a home for longer than a 6 month period. She has seen us grow-up, change careers, buy our first house and make a home of our own. She has witnessed the birth of 2 children, 3 deployments, 3 homecomings and a multitude of celebrations as well as some heartache. She has taken the abuse that many small towns receive, "there's not enough stores," "oh, if we only lived somewhere else we could do ____," "I can't wait to leave Jacksonville," and the list continues. And yet, she continued to be home.
She saw us find family so far from our own, family within the Marine Corps, family in our neighborhood, family in our church. We are invested here, invested in the base, invested in our church, invested in this town. Thus we are leaving more than a house or a town or people. We are leaving our home. While we will go on to make another, part of our hearts will remain here, in Jacksonville, NC.
