We're In New Jersey: Last Week Part 1

It's hard to believe, but we've reached the last stop on the American leg of our journey. It's kind of hitting home that from here we head to the plane in just a week. Exciting, exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
It has been a long time since the last post. We were tired, I guess. So sorry for the long post, but here goes.
Last I left you, it was Sunday afternoon and I was waiting for some computer files to finish copying. I finally left shul for the last time (and surrendered my keys) at about 5pm, and headed home to wrap everything up. Someone bought two of our three couches at the last minute (we gave the third one away), and we were running around the house packing, throwing things away, cleaning, preparing food, giving other things away. A kid across the street got an entire computer (minus the hard drive). It seems to have been so haphazard.
While we originally planned on getting out midafternoon, that didn't happen. So you start making deadlines in your mind. At five I figured we'd get out by seven. At seven it had to be eight. At eight I finally said to Rena, "You know, it's pretty late. Why don't we just get out tomorrow morning." She looked at me and simply said, "No, we're leaving tonight." It was too much. One of the reasons that it took forever to leave was that people kept coming by to say goodbye, wish us well, and just talk for a few minutes. It was wonderful and touching, but made it rather difficult to get anything done. And by the time they did leave I forgot what it was that I was doing, so I'd just start another task.
For the first and last time, we loaded some bags on the roof of the car. (By some miracle, they didn't fall off on the way.) The car was so overloaded - the floors, the trunk, between the seats and the children - that although someone had asked us to bring a small suitcase to Silver Spring, there was simply no way to fit it in the car. Literally. So we called them and they quickly came to pick it up. Sorry about that.
Finally, at 10pm, the car was loaded, the kids bathroomed - and we headed out. When we finally got on the road, while I thought that we'd be totally exhausted, Rena and I had such nervous energy that we just talked. I think it was the first time that we really talked to each other in weeks. We finally stopped in a motel and collapsed for the night.
Both Rena and I found leaving Detroit bittersweet. We will miss greatly the close friends that we made, and feel tremendous fondness for the shul and its members. Leaving weighs heavily upon us all, as we close one chapter in our lives and begin yet another.

To be continued