I went to Fayetteville this weekend, and now it is all very real. This is the place we'll live for the next four years. Four years is a long time. Granted, my seven years in the valley never seemed that long, not until the end, and Greg will be with me, and my pets, and that's really all I'll need to make it seem enough like home. Except hotter. And sweatier. And hillier.

Thankfully, it is absolutely gorgeous, and everyone I met there was extraordinarily friendly and open. More at another time, maybe. I am still trying to take it all in.