saying goodbye to south amana

Summer went by in a breeze it seems. I feel like I crammed a whole year in three months! Autumn is already upon us and we are busy getting settled in our new home. Saying goodbye to South Amana was bittersweet. I was ready to move on, but it was hard leaving the few friends I made there. I used to walk to the post office almost every day and there I met the post "mistress" Jan who would chat with me about wedding prep (her daughter was getting married too) and all sorts of things. She was the best! I also later met Dorothy, who is in her nineties. She and Jan went on walks together every day on Jan's break. I would see them pass by my church while they were on their walks. I didn't get to know Dorothy until a few months before moving, but she is the sweetest lady I've ever met! She said she would cry every time she walked by our empty house. Dorothy is one of those people I wish I could be around all the time. I bet she has a lot of wonderful stories to tell. When I told her about our moving to Chicago she looked a bit worried and said, "Oh be careful! That's a dangerous place!" I think she lived and grew up in Amana her whole life so I can understand her feeling that way. And she gave me good marriage advice as well. She said "Never fight! There are times when I was about ready to hit him, but thank goodness he left the room before I could!" When she said goodbye for the last time she had tears in her eyes, as if she had known me for a long time. It made me feel special and I wished I had gotten to know her better. Those are memories I will keep with me throughout my life.