Today’s the day.
After twenty-one weeks on the mountain, today is the day I leave.
What I will miss:
Deep silence
A steady paycheck
A safe place to sleep at night
Having giant sequoias for neighbors 
Laughing with my coworker
The opportunity to see Steller’s jays and pileated woodpeckers
My creek sanctuary
Trees upon which I can hang my hammock
What I won’t miss:
The smell of pit toilets
Cleaning the smelly pit toilets
Idiots (although I know I can encounter dumb folks anywhere)
Being required to be friendly when I want to be left alone
The twenty-five mile round trip to the post office
Intensely curvy mountain roads
Answering the same questions repeatedly
The plague of flies I’ve lived with most of the summer
Sap on my windshield
What I will be glad for:
Frequent hot showers
Cell phone service
Internet access
Easy communication with people I love
Access to ice that doesn’t involve a twenty-five mile round trip
Activities I am eagerly anticipating:
Reuniting with friends
Attending my first opera
Collaborating on my first mural
Self-publishing my first book
Visiting new places
Nolagirl says the trick to fighting off depression is to keep moving forward. Today I’m taking one step, two steps, three steps, four into the future.
Goodbye mountain. I hope to see you next year.
I took the photos in this post.