Keep The Old

This morning, as I was leaving the pool, I ran into on older gentleman who used to coach here and who occasionally comes by our offices to chat.  He also comes by when he has hurt himself, which is why several years ago, I had the opportunity to tell him that he had completely ruptured his Achilles tendon pushing his stalled out car back into his driveway.  We laugh about it now.

He isn't someone I see regularly, so this morning when I saw him, I realized he probably didn't know that I am leaving.  I told him, he was happy for me.

He told me that I might be leaving this small west Kentucky town, but that this town will always be a part of me, and he is right.  Every place I have ever lived, whether it was good or bad, is now a part of me.

We started reminiscing about some of the funny things that have happened.

We laughed about my first week here when I was in the athletic training room by myself and another elderly gentleman came down looking for my boss.  I couldn't understand a word the man was saying except that it had something to do with shrimp, and the gentleman's great toe had clearly been smashed.  (I later found out, through an "interpreter", that a large block of frozen shrimp had fallen out of the freezer and landed on his toe.)

That same afternoon I met our old team physician, I couldn't understand a word he said either, but he taught me how to drill a hole in toenails using a paperclip.  It's a very useful skill.

I'm at the point where I know that when I see people, whether it be planned or not, it may be the last time I see them before I leave.

While it makes me a little sad, it has been a good reminder of some of the amazing people I have met in the last 7 years.  It was fun to reminisce this morning and think about all the crazy stories about this place that people just simply won't believe when I am living somewhere in New England.

There have been so many amazing friends, coworkers, students, and student athletes that I am thankful to have in my life.  I will miss them, and hope many of them will remain a part of my life and follow through on their promises to come visit!