Goodbyes

Goodbyes are hard. There is no easy way to say goodbye to someone who means a lot to you. Sometimes you have advanced notice to a goodbye, but you always say, "Oh I have plenty of time to prepare for this, it won't be that bad." But then before you know, the date of the goodbye has arrived, altogether too quickly, you find yourself not prepared at all. You have no idea what to say, your planned, robotic goodbye goes out the window. You don't know what to do, the person who is leaving is telling you its time to go, they have to leave, but you're unwilling to accept that. You can't wrap your mind around the fact that the person who has always been there, the rock, the one who you were sure would never leave...they're going away. It's thrust upon you all too quickly, there is no planning a goodbye. You have to accept the fact that they are leaving, there is nothing you can do. You have to know that they are leaving for a good reason, otherwise they wouldn't be going in the first place. Recently I had to say goodbye to someone very close to me...it was a tough time, and tears were shed on both sides. I know that where he is going is where he needs to be, where he is supposed to be. I don't want him to go, but it's not my decision. In short, goodbyes come way to quickly, if you know someone who is going to be leaving you, treasure every time you have with them. Don't blow them off, spend time, share laughs, make memories that will last. The time of their departure is always sooner than you think it will be. Don't be afraid of goodbyes, embrace them. Goodbyes are a sign of change, a fresh start, a new chapter in the story of your life. So say the painful goodbye to the departing person, but prepare yourself for the new experiences that follow. Embrace those new experiences, live the new chapter, but never forget the old one.