Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today really sucks.

Tomorrow is going to suck even more.

Everything except the things we're each bringing on our respective flights is packed and ready to be picked up, which means I'm sitting here in a big-ish empty house surrounded by boxes and even though I've done it more times than I care to count, it still gets to me.

Leaving Newfoundland is a lot harder for me than some of you may believe.

I know I bitch about things out here fairly regularly on this space, but the truth is that the best two years of my life, relationship wise and professionally, have taken place since I landed on the shores of Dear Ol' Newfoundland.

Coming here to be with Sarah was a huge leap of faith; a belief that the feelings we shared in our three weeks together before she returned for school were real and that the beautiful weekend we had at my cousin Rob's wedding that Thanksgiving could be duplicated.

Seventeen months later, I can't imagine being without her, even for this next month and know that the decision I made in October 2006 was easily the smartest decision of my life.

But Newfoundland has been about more than Sarah.

This is where my writing talents flourished and found homes.

I found Bugs & Cranks sitting in our apartment on Crosbie Road while scouring the Craigslist Toronto website one day. Passion Magazine happened the same way. Epic Carnival came from my work at Bugs.

And this little number right here was born out of an evening of drinks and dinner for my birthday at Fog City.

All the future success that may come via the pen or the keyboard originated in Newfoundland and that makes getting on a plane tomorrow with an indefinite return date a very hard thing to do.

What makes it a little easier is knowing that the friends I've made here are going to be friends for life.

They don't have a choice... I'll Facebook Stalk them!