I am getting ready to say goodbye again.

Goodbye to Decatur, Illinois. Goodbye to Lake Decatur and its beauty in every season.

Goodbye to my first studio apartment.

Goodbye to Scovill Zoo and friends like Niko, Seamus, and the Humboldt penguins. Goodbye to my thirty-third birthday with my family, which will never happen again.

As always, this goodbye gives me the chance to say hello. Hello to the unmet future being worked in God’s hands like clay. Hello to a new place, new faces, new adventures. Hello to starting and finishing more stories. Hello to my beloved, to whom I am finally coming home.

The universe never fails to surprise and delight us. Keep your mind and heart open, hold onto things only lightly, and keep moving. We’re all in this together.

Goodbye. Hello.