Melissa: Facundity would be nice, if anyone has some on hand

I’m not the best at saying goodbye. When people tell me they will be thinking of me or they know I’ll enjoy every minute of this experience, I feel as though my responses of “Thank you” and “I will” are wholly inadequate. I seem to think I need to be more eloquent than I am, conveying my appreciation and love in a clear manner that will last the next six months. I recently sent out thank-you notes to people who generously gave me gifts at my good-bye party. How difficult it is to express thanks for a gift, much less gratitude for intangible things like support and love and faith! How difficult to say goodbye in a letter that will be far more lasting than any words murmured during a crushing hug in my living room.

I realize saying goodbye now is not that different from saying goodbye when I left for college in the first place. When I headed off to Missouri State, I said goodbye to many people I would not see again until Christmas, some not until the next summer. If I didn’t see some of my friends for my entire freshman year, why does six months suddenly seem so long? Maybe it's because in some cases I’m saying goodbye to a stage in a relationship- I will change or you will change or life will change things for us. That doesn't call for sadness or finality, but it does seem to deserve more than a simple “I’ll miss you."

Even knowing that the toughest farewells (the ones where I’ll probably just cry instead of even trying to speak) are still to come, my excitement is building. After all of our work and waiting, it’s finally here! I leave Tuesday morning for Kansas City, so I just have tomorrow to run last minute errands and anxiously weigh my bags. Almost everything is crossed off the list...