Adios
arrivederci
au revoir
Good-bye.
Good-bye
Good-bye
No matter the language,
I am terrible
horrible
awful and absolutely
no
good
whatsoever
at
good-byes.
During the ten years
we have lived here
{I have to pinch myself
when I write that, even
to believe it} I have never
had a friend move away.
Until this year.
One dear friend
left in April, one
moves this week
and the other
the week after that.
When it rains, it
pours, eh?
The irony in all of
this is that I have
moved 15+ times
in my own life.
I was the one to leave.
I was the one who left
a forwarding address.
I was the one moving on
to new pastures and new
adventures.
I can literally count on
one hand the times that
the shoe was on the other
foot. The most recent was
15 years ago when a very
special friend moved back
to her native country on the
opposite side of the globe.
It was a strange feeling to
drive by her old neighborhood
and know she was no longer
a part of it.....or to want to
phone her when a movie
or exhibit was coming to town
that I knew she would adore,
only to realize she was gone.
It leaves an empty spot in
your day to day world.
Wherever we lived growing
up, I always had a best friend.
At school, we were constantly
together.....at lunch, on the
playground, between classes.
I can only imagine how hard
it was being the friend left behind,
especially those times when my
dad was transferred mid-school year.
One day she was half of a
pair and the next day, just the
half that stayed behind.
Gulp.
Now I'm that girl,
three
times over.
And while eventually that
empty spot will grow smaller
and smaller as I fill my hours
with the day to day concerns
of family life, there will forever
be a little scar ~ like a healed-
over mosquito bite ~ on my
heart, where each of these
sweet friends left their mark.
My heart has a lot of these.
But it does beat on, richer for
the experience that each of
those friendships lent to my
life, no matter the duration.
My last move as a child came
in November of eighth grade.
I was thirteen. We were moving
from Oregon to Minnesota and
knew it would be a long, long
time until we visited that lovely
coastline again. We took a day
before the move to drive to the
coast and walk the wind-swept
beaches. One of our favorite
stretches had a cave, where we
all carved our initials and the
date.....
We were here.
That's what each
of these friends
has etched on my heart.
One of these girls wanted
a quick good-bye in the
parking lot last week.....
Like pulling off a Band-aid,
she said.
But I'm not good at that.
I am the type that picks
at a corner and then slowly
separates from the Band-aid,
wincing at the pain a little
bit at a time.
And so I'll go to her house,
moving van out front, for
one last hug and one last
good-bye.....And I will leave
with that raw wound on
my heart, right along with
the blessing that it bestows.
Wish me luck.
xx
Suzanne
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An old Irish blessing
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