A Farewell Party

So where do I begin? Just over a week ago, I guess. Our friend, Mrs. Peggy, led a cadre of volunteers to put together possibly the greatest farewell party in the history of farewell parties – at least that’s the way it felt to us.

We loved the seashell-decorated gas can in our honor, along with every dollar that went inside. We were especially fond of the magic $100 Shell gift card from our friend Diann. We used it at our first stop and put $70 on the card. Later, when we stopped again, we were told that it still had a $100 balance. A magic gift card, woo hoo!!! Eventually, the magic wore off, and though we hope the first clerk that messed up processing it didn’t get in too much trouble, we sure enjoyed the help.

The food at our party was tremendous, topped only by the beautiful words and tears that were shed in our honor. I was especially moved by the selection of people who spoke in public – not the traditional choices, but an eclectic group. My kind of group.

Of course Jody ended up stealing the show. My family was invited on stage at the end. All three of my girls emphatically stated on the way to the stage that they would NOT be speaking, so I began by fumbling around for words worth saying. I failed miserably, but at least I bided time so that Jody could decide to speak. She mostly cried, which was perfect.

Standing on that stage with my three ladies was an amazing sight – a Civic Center full of people who came to say they love us. I hope none of us ever forget a special moment like that, no matter what happens.

It was so good to see so many friends. I wish we would have had pictures taken with everyone there, but here is a sampling of friends who came…

The Smiths

The Delanceys

The Hesselrodes

The Hayes

Emily

But if I had to rank the coolest deal of the whole party, it was that our house sold while we were there. I mean, completely. When we arrived at 3pm, no one had even been looking at our house. Before we left the party at 7pm, we had copies of the signed papers. Very, very cool. Scary cool.

Like I say, it was the best farewell party in the history of farewell parties. From our perspective. And there aren’t enough Thank Yous in the world to share in return.