How we spent our last 36 hours in Ann Arbor

Saturday
1. Jude and Sophie spent the morning at the Hands-On Museum: We've spent so much time here with Sophie over the years, the attendants at the front desk don't even bother checking our membership card anymore when we visit.
2. Final drop-off at the Salvation Army: I've lost count of how many boxes we've taken to them. Every time we think we've brought our last box, we find enough things to fill another...
3. Gave Tempest a final car wash: It deserved it and we wanted to hand it over to Dan and Wendy in as clean a condition as we could get it.
4. Spent the rest of the day with the people we love and hold dear in Ann Arbor: thank you everyone for braving the scorching heat and coming to our farewell party. Thank you for your kind words, hugs, kisses, tears, and years of friendship. You mean more to us than you can ever imagine. Thank you also for being so enthusiastic about our white elephant game and taking a little piece of us with you, whether it was a bag of binder clips, dishwashing detergent, or batteries :)
5. Did our last load of laundry in Ann Arbor: And as a result, slept at 1.30am getting packing done.

Sunday
1. Woke up early to do last minute packing.
2. Threw last bulk of trash (including everything that was left in the fridge, bathroom, and basement)
3. Stripped our bed and sent it off with a friend who thankfully allowed us a final night on a proper bed instead of on our quilts or an inflatable bed like we thought we'd have to.
4. Said our last goodbyes to our neighbors: we had an impromptu breakfast in our shared backyard and it was really really nice.
5. Made sure the cleaning lady came and left our keys with her. It was hard handing over the keys to a place you've called home for the past 8 years.
6. Had lunch at Zingerman's. But of course. We had our favorite #13- grilled Sherman's Sure Choice (corned beef, coleslaw, and white cheddar, and a side of mac & cheese. That really made leaving Ann Arbor even harder. Jude likened it to breaking up- "Really, it's not you; it's me."
7. Spent the next couple of hours with the Cooney-Flanigans at their house: we made/ate popcorn, Sophie got in some quality Julianne time (even got to see Ginny, their cat, who she adores), and we just talked. Like it was any other visit we've paid to them. Except it wasn't. Saying goodbye to them was tough- together with the Cooks, they've been the closest thing to family we had in Ann Arbor. And having had them all in our lives these past 9 years has been nothing but a complete privilege. We've been so blessed...

There's an Ann Arbor-shaped place in our hearts that no other city will fill. Bye bye A2- you have NO idea how much you'll be missed.