Sunday, 8/17/08

When the day came to move out, Matt was caught unaware ... like a good pick from a power forward ... by an undefinable kind of sadness. Through church, despite his best attempts to focus, his mind wandered back to various memories of his days in Coharie Creek. He'd gone away for college, but that was different, he was less than 30 minutes away from home. And while he didn't go back every weekend, especially that first year, it was nice to know that it wasn't too far. The last semester he'd essentially moved back home once his roommate left school after Christmas break.

As he sat around the kitchen table w/ the family, the small talk was somewhat forced. There wasn't much to say. Nobody wanted to see Matt go, but everyone had come to grips with that he was going and that maybe he had to go. It was one of those moments that reminds you that life doesn't come with a pause or rewind button, no matter how badly we might want one. Mostly Emily filled the void with her plans for the upcoming week, her last stretch of summer vacation prior to her junior year at "The Creek", a year she was approaching with much trepidation. Six years ago, Matt didn't have a care in the world other than if he'd make varsity squad that year. Now he was striking out on his own. "Now or never", he thought as he packed his last bag.

They'd mostly filled his small one-bedroom apartment in Clover Valley on Friday. The rest of his stuff was now snugly packed in the back of his 2002 Toyota Echo. The only one not crying was Zeus, their behemoth Neapolitan Mastiff, although his slobbering probably produced the most actual fluid. As he pulled out of the driveway, Zeus gave a rare bark as if to say, "Hey, where are you going?"