I am marking today as the official start to all of my PCS (Permanent Change of Station) preparations.

Just prior to that little October road race I ran, I ventured into the Wonderland that is Costco with a card-carrying friend to buy beer and some post-race rations. Once inside the warehouse it didn’t take long for me to realize that 1) Veuve Clicquot is sold at an unbeatable price and 2) there are a lot of things that I could probably buy in bulk to take with me to Dakar. I asked Blair if she could bring me again “someday”, and I started to compile a list of what I could get at dramatically cheaper prices than if I had to get them overseas. The majority of my list involved shelf-stable, consumable products with highlights such as 630 tampons and 912 multivitamins (yes, I did the math). Just goes to show you never know what the person next to you is calculating and writing down when you’re traveling on the Metro.

So this morning Blair told me that she was heading to Costco again and asked if I would like to accompany her to do my big shop. I think that she probably had a better inkling than I did regarding the vast sum of money that I would be spending. I mean, I am going to be gone for almost three years, but I don’t want to create a “Little America” in Dakar; in my mind I was only picking up a few things. We wandered the aisles and slowly my cart began to teach me about the principles of inertia as it became laden like the Grinch’s sleigh with Tums, Advil PM, Tampax and Maple Syrup.

For me, Costco was quickly becoming an out of body experience. I started to throw box after box of sugar-free gum into my cart, mainly because I chew a lot of gum when I’m stressed.

It hit me that I was leaving Washington D.C. very soon, and suddenly I didn’t want to put much else in my cart or think anymore about “what I might need” when I was gone. Blair serenely and patiently guided me along the remainder of the rows and talked through items that would be useful when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. (“You will need Vitamin D pills with Calcium…..you don’t have hot flashes yet- you don’t need any of those pills….”) At the register she coyly made the massive purchase using my credit card and even had fun playing “The Price Is Right” when everything was finally rung up. Honestly, I was very grateful to have someone there as I made a big step into a future where at first I’m not going to know anybody at all….again….

I guess my anecdote is a long-winded way of me explaining why I chose the U2 lyrics above as my title entry. I have a really hard time asking other people for help, mainly because I don’t want to be thought of as an emotional or financial inconvenience. It was out of lonely desperation that I joined my running club in the first place, and the dividends that this one action have paid are far more than I could have ever imagined. That said, it’s not rocket science to observe that life is so much easier when you reach out for and accept the support of others. Why I must continually rediscover and be surprised by this simple concept is beyond me. Maybe they didn’t teach that subject at public school.

Leaving the precious network that I have stumbled upon and finding another like it on a completely different continent is going to be difficult and intimidating. At the moment I honestly don’t know if I have the energy to do it all again so soon. Still, if the friendships that I have formed here in The District have taught me anything, it’s that I will have to put myself out there once I get Dakar- because to do any less will only cheat myself out of some amazing and rewarding experiences. Like allowing your friends to help send you off with a three-year supply of feminine products.