It brings me back to the few moves I had as a child. Moving to a strange place, meeting new friends, starting a new school. But I never really thought about what it was like on the other end, for the people that we left. I mean, come on, I'm pretty spectacular so I'm sure I broke a few hearts along the way as well! ;-)
I got the dreaded call from the daycare that Grace was having a meltdown of epic proportions. Come get her NOW! I didn't really piece it together, until we were on our way back to the car and the sobbing tears got even louder and harder. "Madison is gone"...well it was all I could do to maintain my composure to get our butts home safely. I have a tendency to get uber attached to the kids friends, and would easily adopt a select few of them if their parents would just give them up! Madison being one of those few, my heart is broken too. As I type this through tear-filled eyes, I can only imagine how Grace feels. They were attached at the hip, did everything together, and even took turns spooning each other when they had sleepovers. Grace was the spooner at Maddy's house and Maddy was the spooner here. Hardly a day went by where they didn't see each other.
It's not often that we think of those left behind. I work for with the Canadian Forces, so this time every year we say our goodbyes to those posted. A lot of times we, those left behind, have a void. Not only are we losing a co-worker, we have a vacant position until the newbie comes in, but we also lose friends. Every single posting season we say goodbye to friends we've made over the past few years. Nobody pays much attention to the fact that we have an adjustment period too.
We have access to free courses for upgrading computer and interpersonal skills. Courses for stress point where you don't want to get too close cause you know they'll just eventually leave.management and time management. Courses for excel, or word. Online courses to learn french, green procurement courses, file management, and accounting courses....but not a single one to deal with losing friends.
We bond over listening to their stories from Afghanistan. We hear the heartache they've seen in Africa. We see the effects that these trips overseas take on their relationships. We develop some deep friendships and then they just leave. Its hard to say goodbye over and over again. You get to the
We always say we'll keep in touch, but then life takes over and eventually the emails slow down and we're left stalking each other on Facebook. I suppose that's the test of true friends...we don't have to talk everyday, or even every week. Just knowing they are a click away is sometimes enough. A quick note to say hey, or a forwarded joke that makes you think of them. Whether it's a move from one building to another or to a completely different city, saying goodbye is inevitable if you work where I work.
You just keep calm and carry on, and hope the next batch aren't morons.
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