The Mass-exodus begins

And by Mass-exodus, I mean that the time has come for my mother to leave the Bay State to go back to the mothership. And by the mothership, I mean the Mitten State. And by the Mitten State, I mean Michigan. I hope that the Mass-exodus will soon become a mass Mass-exodus. In case I haven't made it clear, I am dying to move somewhere else--anywhere else. And by that I mean I really want to get the HELL out of here, to anywhere else as long as it has indoor plumbing and high-speed internet access. I guess that rules out Amish country. I am lucky in that Jason shares my sentiments and totally understands my (sometimes somewhat petty) reasons for being unhappy here.

What I'm really trying to say is that we went to see Mommy in Worcester for one last time last night. It was bittersweet. I didn't want to use that word, but that is what it was. As I previously mentioned, she is moving home and getting married. She and Phillip (her fiancé) were supposed to leave yesterday, but are now leaving Thursday instead. That means that rather than help them load the truck last night, we got to go out for a nice dinner and enjoy being together for the last time in who knows how long.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this move.

On one hand, it has been beyond great having my mommy an hour away. I feel so lucky to have had her so close and involved during this time in my life, and it is wonderful that she has had the opportunity to bond with the man with whom I've chosen to spend the rest of my life. I feel very sad to be losing such easy access to someone who has become a best friend. Yes, she's my mom, but she'd definitely be in my top eight if she were on MySpace (but don't join just for that, Mommy, because I HATE MySpace and you'd hate it too). Most people don't have that sort of relationship with their mother, and I don't need to look far to see the opposite end of that spectrum in other families. I consider myself to be very blessed to have such a special bond with my mom.

On the other hand, Michigan is home. It always will be. It is where my family belongs. The idea of going home to Michigan to be amongst my people is that much better because now I know that more of them will be there, where they belong. I would move there in a second if Jason were able to find work. If this Navy thing doesn't happen, I'll be lobbying hard for Michigan to be on the short list of relocation options. I am definitely very excited for Mommy to be going home, and for her to be making a home for herself with Phillip, whom I adore. I couldn't have dreamed up a better next chapter for her.

All of that made it only slightly easier to walk out her door for the last time last night. And by that I mean that it was not easy at all. And that it was not done without tears in my eyes. And that frankly, I'm surprised that I held it together as well as I did.

I also had to say my goodbyes to Velveteen (who was good enough to tolerate a few pictures). It was heart-wrenching. He is nine years old. That's old, for a bunny. I petted his head and back and silky cheeks and breathed in his clean rabbit smell until there were fluffs up my nose. I put my face in his face and watched his nose wiggle. I held out each of my fingers for him to mark with his chin (I'm still his). I choked back tears while I did all of this, wedged under Mommy's bed, rather stuck because my boobs were in the way. I even made Jason get down on the floor and reach under there to give the requisite ear-stroke. He is a very patient husband.

I'm hoping that the Mass-exodus goes well for all involved. And in case you are wondering if they plan to take a shortcut and drive their moving truck through Canada, the answer is no. And that is because Mommy wants to keep her houseplants and her "non-native species" rabbit.