May 6 -- ran a 5K in DC, drover to Doylestown that night, sweaty and smelly. This is an important date because it was pretty much the last time I had a "Laurie-style" workout
May 7 -- clean and showered, met with the president one more time. As I was driving home, got the call with the job offer.
May 8 -- gave my notice at IC, did not go over well
May 9 -- formally accepted the position after some slight negotiations
May 10 -- told the staff I was leaving
From that point, it was starting to pack, starting to purge, finding a place to live long-distance. The baby's room was the toughest. Jill came over and went through a bunch of stuff. Some things I held onto, others I left her choose if she wanted it or we put it in the Molly pile. And some stuff, I specifically wanted her baby to have from me. Two nights later, Molly came over and got the rest of the stuff and about 40-50 packs of diapers and wipes. And I will tell you that that night was the best night's sleep I had gotten in a long time.
It didn't last, because just as quickly as there was baby closure (for now), there were spinning thoughts about wrapping up projects, being included on emails at the new job and trying to figure it all out. My farewell to Ithaca tour started about two weeks after I gave my notice, two weeks before my last day.
There were lunches. There were dinners. There were drinks. Memorial Day weekend, I pretty much packed all I could pack and still live in my house for another two weeks.
It was sad to say good-bye to people, and in most cases, I didn't. I'm going back in a couple weeks to meet the babies that were born after I left. And so I didn't say good-bye, just farewell.
A few highlights of my farewell party on campus, and the farewell tour:
Me in my party dress for my party day
I couldn't have asked for better teams -- the MCMs (top) and Sports Information.
They, along with a few others, made it very very hard to leave.
My awesome co-directors being photo-bombed.
Hope and Heather
(and Tina in the background, annoyed that someone snapped a photo of her)
How awesome is this cake! Baseball on top, my new athletic logo on the second layer and the newly implemented logo at IC, with a mini-me made of Rice Krispies and fondant.
With Jen, the proprietress of Ithacake, the amazingly awesome cake lady who made the above cake. Not only with love, not only with sentiment, but yummy too.
With Claudia, who doesn't believe in willy-nilly hugging, only when appropriate. Moving away falls into that "life changing event" where hugging is appropriate.
Next up: Life in PA, and fitting a two-bedroom townhouse into a two-bedroom apartment
