Miss Ruark's Adventures: Leaving Akiak

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Leaving Akiak - 3 Weeks Later

I am now sitting at my brother's house, with Dakota and my five year old niece playing outside in the backyard. Today was 95 degrees where I'm living in California.

Dakota enjoying the yard

Several adventures have now been completed (leaving Akiak, driving the Alaskan Highway, finding a job, etc.) and yet I couldn't write about them. It didn't feel real to me. How could I write about something that didn't feel real?

I was in complete denial about leaving Akiak. I was absolutely sure something would happen and I would find myself staying. I was packing up boxes, applying for jobs, buying a new car, but none of it seemed real. I could only focus on the tasks in front of me. And maybe that's why I can finally sit down and write, my tasks are completed. I have nothing else to do but to finally accept that this is my new life.

Those last few weeks in Akiak were hectic. I was stressing trying to get all my totes packed and sent off. The postal worker went on leave a week before I was supposed to leave. Her substitute was only working a couple of hours a day and didn't know how to insure packages. I really wished I had known that before I showed up. Those are the only packages that haven't arrived yet. Fingers crossed they get here. I ended up pre-paying and printing up labels off the internet. Of course, the USPS site had a glitch for the state of Alaska with printing labels, so I had to try a different site. And then I had a glitch on that site too. The day before I was supposed to leave, I was frantically printing labels. My plan B was to give money to someone in Akiak to just take the packages to the Post Office for me. Which someone actually did end up taking the prepaid boxes there for me. I don't know who took care of that for me, but I'm sending my thanks out there through this blog. Hopefully, it will get to that person.

I have a lot to be grateful for, especially during that time I was leaving. I have found that you never really know how much you mean to people until you leave them. When I left Benicia, I found a great number of people made an effort to let me know I would be missed! (And these same people made a great deal to welcome me back as well!) The same was true with leaving Akiak.

It became clear that I had gained a 2nd family in Akiak. My 2nd family not only made a effort to spend time with me before I left, but they offered to help me pack and clean. And what truly touched my heart was when they found out I didn't have any food in my house, they made sure I was eating meals by inviting me over to dinner and even breakfast on my last day. They really took care of me and made it very hard to leave. Maybe that's why I couldn't believe I was leaving, I didn't want to think I was leaving them.

My two friends, Charity and Faith, even came to see me and my pets off. I couldn't believe my bush flight was actually on time. It still feels unreal that I really left Akiak. I know I will stay in touch with my friends via Facebook, but I miss them.

Life feels so surreal to me. I am typing this and my niece comes up to me to show me her new stickers (outside having been abandoned for a cooler place). My cats are lounging around the house. The air conditioning is on in this large house. My brother is making dinner for the little one. I am thousands of miles away from Akiak.....literally. And yet not. Maybe there's a part of me that never left Akiak, or better yet: maybe I took a part of Akiak with me.