On September 30th 2022, we woke up in our home in Murfreesboro for the last time. Alan's parents and my mom showed up to help us do our final packing. We had to load up my car, Alan's truck, and his parent's truck with everything that was left in the house. We had to get on the road as quickly as possible to hopefully arrive before dark. I have to admit that I was a bit of a nervous wreck that day. We were so exhausted and had been for the last month or so and moving most of the stuff earlier that week had us both feeling old and sore.
I was also, to my surprise, very emotional about leaving the house and land. It's true that I was totally fed up with the house itself. It had foundation issues, plumbing issues, and just, well, ISSUES. But, it was our first home. We had a lot of memories there; bad and good.
I was finding myself feeling the weight of the big changes ahead. Somehow, even at the age of 32, I felt like I was a real grown up for the first time. We were doing something scary, uncertain, and moving away from our families. A lot of that reality hit me in the face that morning. Everyone was asking me what to do with stuff or what they could help with and I honestly could hardly make my brain work. Alan's parents, my mom, and Alan got a lot done in a short amount of time. I'll admit my brain was spinning and I was kind of useless.
The vehicles were all packed to their absolute capacity. You could not fit a single thing into them. My mom had to take my spin mop home because it just wouldn't fit anywhere. The only space left was for my dog, Penny, who would ride next to me on the way to Gatlinburg.
My mom left and we snapped a quick picture. 
Alan's parents left to head to the mountains. I gathered Penny and took one last walk through the house, lots of memories flooding my brain. I've always grown attachments to places and I didn't realize how hard it would be for me to say goodbye to this place. I mourned leaving my rose bush, the herbs growing in the garden. I had a tomato plant still growing outside. I lamented not taking Penny on one last walk through the acres over the last week. Our dog, Maggie, who had passed away was buried under a tree there. It was hard to say goodbye all while knowing I had to hurry and get on the road.
Alan was going to leave last, take a few photos, and have his own last moments alone before leaving. We were both nervous about his older truck making it on the long drive as we had never tested it that far before. I had a quick emotional teary moment, gave Alan a hug, and got in the car with Penny to head to the mountains. I stopped on the way out to pick one last wildflower and sat it on my dash before turning out of the driveway for the last time.