Journey → Good Bye 2009
Good bye 2009, the year of lonely roads. I saw the end of my comfortable home during you, and was uprooted many times. One friend took the loneliest road of all- his last. And that by choice. Another made the road cruel by the slow decay of alcohol. Though the friends found along the way can never be replaced, the path getting there, and the path that led away, was long.
You were the year I faced the ones that set my life off course. You were the year the one I always adored, left. During you the one that everyone knows I shouldn’t be around, came back.
Too many times the path was one foot in front of the other, with destinations fleeting in the distant horizon. Too many times I moved forward out of pain, not pursuit. Rest was scarce during you and came guilt laden and with remorse.
The road led to old friends, new friends, growing stronger, smiling during the down times, standing up to people, and accepting the past. Though I now fear less and have faith more, I won’t miss the process you put me through to learn it.
You can never be replaced 2009. But may years like you be scarce to return. The door was closed too many times for your departure to be lamented. May your successor be more gracious and welcoming than you. May its roads lead to, and not away. And may it replace the memories you left with the embrace you never knew.
Golden Gate from Crissy Field
