Left and Leaving

The sun is out today. The snow is melting, falling from the rooftops. The light blinds the eyes, squinting. It has been dark for so long, it had become difficult to tell night from day. No reason to venture out and no reason to wake up for so long.

But today...the sun is out.

Some say the Earth was made in seven days. Seven days to make the waters, the heavens and the ground. Seven days to put man in the place he was destined to rule. Seven days. The same amount of time left in this place. The bittersweet taste stains the lips.

So this is it. This is what it all comes down to, what every moment of the past two years has been leading up to. Some days it seemed so far away, as if it would never come. Some days it wasn't wanted anyhow. Today is not one of those days. Today is not an end...today is the beginning of creation.

Let there be light.

There is a place waiting for me, one I do not yet know. There is a life waiting for me, one I have yet to live. There is a woman waiting for me, one I have yet to truly demonstrate my love for.

So, my anonymous friends, this moment in time is coming to an end as all things do, but with its death comes the birth of something new. There is no more time clock, no more punching in, no more paychecks to cash. There is nothing left here for me, or the boy I used to be. In seven days a man sets out for a new life...one he thought he would never have.

I sit here and write this as a testament to how hard I have worked. There has not been a moment since I started here that has not been pushing me toward this inevitable conclusion. Not a decision has been made that has not lead me here. Here is the crossroads, the rebirth and the chance to start over. Here, my friends, is the new life I have so desperately longed for.

So I will leave you with something simple, something I hope you will think about...something I hope has meaning for you.

There was once a boy on the edge of his sanity, pushed to his wits end. Battered and bruised. Abused and taken advantage of. Laughed at and disbelieved. That boy no longer exists, in his place stands a man. Resolute in his decision, yearning for the future and hoping on the promise of a new day. One where the sun finally shines. One where the grass truly is greener. One where a life full of happiness is not just a story you tell your kids to put them to sleep.

This is it. This is the end. This is the beginning. This is Patrick...the real Patrick, the Patrick I have never known. The Patrick I cannot wait to discover.

Goodbye my friends. Goodbye for now and forever. It has been a pleasure telling you this story, the story of how I became a man. The story of how all good things come to those who wait.