This past weekend was the final retreat/decommissioning for our service year. It was absolutely the best weekend with my volunteer family. The girls and I arrived on Thursday night and hung out with everyone that night. Friday we slept in a little and then went to downtown Orlando for lunch. We went and picked up our final volunteer friend from the train station and then headed to our executive director's house to start the retreat. Friday was a pretty laid back evening of just talking and playing games. I also really appreciated that we were at her house because it felt personal and more intimate. We were in a small circle and it just felt like family. We had a delicious dinner of Shepard's Pie and all sorts of sides and desserts made by our directors. It was a really comforting first night back together.
Saturday, we had a full day of activities from awards to surveys and then in the evening, we had a gathering of several board members, alumni, and various important members of the CVIF community to celebrate one of our leaders moving to another position in Florida. We were all able to interact and then I had made a video to share our memories from throughout the year that was shown to everyone. Following that, we had a small fire going and made s'mores. Once everyone started leaving, we cleaned up and headed back for one last night of bonding together at our friend's apartment. We were also trying to prepare ourselves for the next day which would be full of sadness but joy.
We gathered for Mass on Sunday morning at the church where we started our year, San Pedro Center. It was absolutely perfect to finish our year where we started. Once Mass was over, they held a decommissioning ceremony for the nine of us that finished our year. After pictures were taken and trying to delay some goodbyes, most all of us went to have some Chinese and then back to our friend's apartment. We all hung out for awhile and I burned copies of the movie for everyone to take with them but before we knew it, our time to head back to Miami was coming since we had the longest drive. Minimal tears were shed but our hearts were definitely in pain. As is normal in any situation such as this, some of us are closer to one another than others but my heart was still aching as I gave each of my friends a long hug. There were a few that I didn't want to let go of but I know that this is not the end. The nine of us that made it through this year have a bond like no other and I will never be the same person because of them. We are planning our reunion already so that we all have something to look forward to. I'm not the same person I was before and I think that leaving Florida might actually become harder than leaving Kansas. I'm not sure I'm ready for it but just like 11 months ago, it's coming whether I like it or not.
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