Goodbye, Orlando. Love You Forever.

I remember the first time I “came home” to Orlando. We got back from our honeymoon the first week of January and it was freezing. I had only packed tropical clothes, naturally, and shivered in my neon orange shorts the whole way to out apartment. When we walked in-my first time coming home to this new place-it was just so warm and cozy and immediately felt like home. 

Orlando was my home for three and a half years. It’s where I had my first lease and my first legal drink. It’s where med school and match day and graduation happened. It’s where we got Gatsby. It’s where Jack was born. It’s where I made friends and lost friends and made some great decisions and made some poor choices and ultimately became someone I was really proud of. It will always hold a giant piece of my heart. A giant piece of me. 

So goodbye for now, Orlando. Goodbye to the apartment that warmed my heart three and a half years ago and goodbye to the tiny apartment in the sky with the view that took my breath away the first time I saw it. Goodbye to the best tacos I’ve ever had and to my favorite sushi happy hour. Goodbye to Lake Eola and the farmer’s market, to the best rooftop pool, to the traffic that makes me crazy. 

I’ll miss you. 

I told Chris the other day that I thought we did our time in Orlando just right. We didn’t outgrow it so soon that we didn’t enjoy our last bit of time in Orlando, but we outgrew it soon enough that I’m not sad to be leaving. How can I be when a perfect home and the next chapter of my life is waiting for me in Gainesville? It’s never easy to say goodbye, but having a hello waiting right around the corner makes it a little bit sweeter. 

Thanks for all the good, Orlando. I’ll love you forever.