Nostalgia

I don't think it really hit me that we were leaving Boston until my last day of work. And in general, the last day of work is always just weird, because you say goodbye and sometimes you might exchange email addresses with a few people. But all along in the back of your mind you know you'll probably never speak to any of those people ever again. Even so, at the end of my shift, I found myself lingering. I walked around my unit a couple of extra times just to make sure I said goodbye to everybody. Then I walked just a little slower than usual out of the building. And finally, after I exited the building, walking towards my subway stop for the last time, I took one more look at the hospital, just to make sure I remembered what it looked like. I really enjoyed working at the Brigham, and I will always remember it as a shining example of how all hospitals should be.

Throughout the rest of our last week in Boston, I definitely found myself lingering quite a bit. I felt like I wanted to savor every last moment that I could. Things like the Charles River sparkling in the sun, the wind whipping my hair all around, and me not even caring about it, the quaint and narrow streets stretching upward to form Beacon Hill, and even the Whole Foods and CVS that we frequented for groceries... Every time I realized it might be the last moment I would experience these things, I felt a little tug on my heart strings. It was things like riding the subway, watching a group of fat pigeons waddling along the sidelwalk, hearing an authentic Boston accent and giggling to myself about it, walking along the downtown streets, as I watched and looked at all the people and things going on around me, hearing seagulls laughing as they soared through the ocean breeze between the buildings, feeling the coldest of winds creep down my neck, and visiting our favorite neighborhood bar while we laughed with our favorite neighborhood bartender and friend... all of the "last times" I experienced these things made me wish we could've stayed just a little bit longer.

I admit there were plenty of things I complained about while I was there. But then when I realized we were really about to leave for good, I just kept thinking about all the things I loved about being there and that I would sorely miss. I loved Boston and I have so many wonderful memories from our time there. It was an experience of a lifetime that will always have a special place in my heart.