Bittersweet, Happy Ending

The end of our time in Arlington was a mad rush to get things done.  Not just sorting and packing, but seeing and experiencing the last few items on our bucket DC Area Bucket List.  One of the items on Kerstin's list was the Walkersville Southern Railroad historic train ride near Frederick, MD.  So we packed a picnic, put on our engineers' hats, and boarded an open air car for a one hour ride through rural Maryland.

The boys were obviously pumped and the rest of us, including Anders, just enjoyed soaking in the unspoiled beauty out there.

The following week was my last at work, and I had to say goodbye to some amazingly wonderful & talented people.  I look at these faces and think of how much time we spent together, how many "situations" we've been in, and am just grateful to have had them on my team.  I was lucky enough to get three goodbye parties, but here are the pictures to the happy hour we had on my last day.  

Just a few day later, two containers were dropped off at the house.  The same two sized containers we used to move out here.  We figured that we moved out of our condo with two containers, and if we were to fit into it again, we better take two on the way back.

Mattias' last day at work and Linus' last day at preschool  followed.  Linus' pre-K class was nice enough to schedule the graduation ceremony a little early so he could participate.

Here is Linus' pre-K teacher Ms. Rosemary and his toddler class teacher Mrs. Mel.  The boy to the left has been Linus best friend since they were 18 months old, Shi Lang.  Linus seemed more excited than anything saying goodbye to his friends, telling them his grandparents have their own swimming pool in California!  At the end of the day, Linus and Shi Lang gave each other a great big bear hug goodbye.  

We didn't let the business of moving get in the way of our social calendar, of course.  We had one last complete Friday playgroup before Gracy & family went back to Mexico.  Here's the 3rd cohort of play group babies.

We even had a chance to spend an evening with Shi Lang and his family.  Us parents kept saying that we wished we had done it sooner since the boys have been best friends for so long.

One beautiful morning we checked out he Bon Air Park rose garden in Arlington, in its glorious full bloom.  Linus and Maben were up to their usual antics, playing make believe and teaming up against Magnus, while Magnus showed Mead how to play with dirt.

Packing craziness ensued.  With my mom's help (on cleaning duty) we were able to get the packing done with relative ease.  Kerstin took care of the boys so we wouldn't accidentally put them in boxes.

We ended up giving stuff away for free, and sending some things in Kerstin  & Magnus' containers, but the mission critical items (including Mattias' motorcycle) fit in the two containers.

Then the Sunday before we flew out we had one last party at Kerstin & Magnus' house, so that we could say our goodbyes all at once.  And so we could have an excuse to buy a large amount of sausage from The German Store.

And before we knew it, we were headed back West.

I will admit that it hurts a little to look back at these pictures, these faces and places we've come to love in the last five years.  Never did I imagine that I would come to appreciate Arlington, or that I would form bonds with so many wonderful people.  We are happy-- moving back home to San Francisco was the goal all along.  But we will always look back at our time in Arlington fondly, and long for all the special times we spent with friends there.