Today’s a hard day. It’s difficult. It’s bittersweet.
Elise and Maly just left Charleston West Virginia.
Maly has wanted to come home for almost a year now. Maybe more. Maybe less. You’d have to ask her. We left on August 13, 2024 to move her up to Charleston for college.
She made it two years, but after spending the better part of that second year injured, she decided to call it an end to her college lacrosse career at the University of Charleston. And with that decision, she decided that she wants to be closer to home. As of right now we don’t know what the plan is. She gets the summer to figure out the rest of her life.
On one hand it’s nice and exciting that she’s coming home and she’ll no longer be 1,300 miles away. On the other hand it’s sad because there’s been a change in course and there’s uncertainty and we won’t have child who lives 1,300 miles away in West Virginia.
I really like West Virginia. Probably like most, it wasn’t much on my radar of places to visit. When we learned that Maly was being recruited by a coach in West Virginia I sort of snickered and turned my nose up at the idea. I’m glad she went.
I’m partial to the thought that Maly currently had “negative” memories and associations with living so far away for 2 years. I think when she looks back at her time there it’ll be met with fond memories and friendships and the hard lessons in adulting. The room’s always dark when you’re in it.
Elise flew out to Charleston on Wednesday evening to help Maly get all packed up and moved out. The girls had their conference championship semifinals game against Dominican yesterday afternoon. They lost 15-13. The UC Women’s Lacrosse team is done this year. They’re driving Maly’s car home. They’re taking a longer route. Elise wants to drive through Alabama and Mississippi. They should be home tomorrow.
I’m going to miss charleston and I’m sad that I didn’t really get to see it or say goodbye one last time. We were up there for Easter, and I kind of knew that might be my last time there, but I was also holding out hope that Maly might have a change of heart and decide to ride it out for a couple more years to finish her degree.
I remember when Elise and Maly flew out there for a recruits trip. Maly already had an offer. She and Elise were both excited about Charleston. I was excited and scared that all of that reality was crashing down on me.
Now it’s crashing down on me again. The only constant is change, so they say. And, I guess since I’m using time-tested adages, I’ve really learned in my recent years that life really is about the journey and not the destination. I guess it just takes a fair number of destinations and their respective journeys.