For Good.

So, true to the way I get things done, I find myself cruising the internet in the middle of packing up my apartment.  Mindless clicking ensues and suddenly i'm watching a video from an awards show i've never heard of, crying on my futon, while simultaneously maintaining multiple conversations with Chicago friends via facebook chat and texting, cruising through an SVU marathon.  Nevermind there is a mountain of things that needs to be put into some sort of bag/box/container, I still need to take out the trash, I haven't worked out in days (weeks maybe, now?), gotta grab a shower and get ready for a farewell dinner.  My favorite Ellen line is, "Don't wait, procrastinate now."

I watch through tears as this woman (probably) lives out the dream of her life and I begin to wonder what all of these lyrics are that she and Kristin Chenoweth are singing.  I look them up.  Cue the waterworks.  This hits close to home today.

The last two days have been spent alone, packing and donating things.  It has been in these moments, driving to the Brown Elephant, sifting through notes and cards, pictures, and thinking about the last week of celebrating and saying goodbye that the finality of my decision has begun to sneak up on me.

What a life I have created for myself here in Chicago.  What an amazing town this is.  Yes, the winters suck, but everything else - the people, the summers, the amazing food, the rich (sometimes shady) history, the architecture and beauty and even the challenges the city faces - make it totally worth it.  Of course I could live here again.  But who knows?  What i'll miss most are the people who have become my friends, my family away from family.  Distance doesn't end friendships, but maintaining friendships in the face of distance is difficult.

It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime.
So let me say before we part, so much of me is made from what I learned from you.
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.
And now, whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.

THANK YOU, FRIENDS.  I love you always.  I miss you already.

Dreams do come true... do yourself a favor and watch it!

(Elphaba):
I'm limited
Just look at me - I'm limited
And just look at you
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda
So now it's up to you
For both of us - now it's up to you...

(Glinda):
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

(Elphaba):
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made from what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

(Glinda):
Because I knew you

(Both):
I have been changed for good

(Elphaba):
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

(Glinda):
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

(Both):
And none of it seems to matter anymore

(Glinda):
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

(Elphaba):
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

(Both):
Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

(Glinda):
And because I knew you...

(Elphaba):
Because I knew you...

(Both):
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good...