In the past week, I've had to say goodbyes to a handful of some pretty special people in my life. Some are "goodbye for now", while others are just a simple "see ya later". Some are more uncertain which never leaves a good feeling behind. Goodbyes, no matter the circumstances, are never fun or easy. They always leave some sort if void, as if what was meant to be hasn't actually happened yet. It's like a good movie that has a crappy ending. It just totally sucks.
My boys and I ventured to SoCal (again) to attend my older sisters surprise 30th birthday party last weekend. The party was super awesome and "J" was totally surprised! She even told me that my kiddos and I were her favorite part of her birthday... How sweet is that?! Although we've had a rough go in the past, it always gets me really shaky when I am a part of things like that. I realize that much of what happens(ed) is and was completely out of my control, but that doesn't change the fact that I still wanted everything to be perfect for her on her special day. We had a fabulous weekend celebrating with good friends and family, and then the weekend was over and we had to say our goodbyes to everyone. Fortunately, many of my extended family members were able to meet my babies, so it made it a tad bit easier to deal with the send off because it was such a great weekend.
During this weekend in SoCal, my parents, younger sister and I took a little trip to visit my ailing grandfather in his assisted living home so he could finally have the chance to meet two of his great grandsons. Any time I see any of my extended family, I try to prepare myself for all possible scenarios and remind myself to not have any expectations of how I think our "visits" should go. When I set the bar high I'm always disappointed, so in order to keep the mood lighter, I decided to take everything during our visit with a grain of salt. Obviously, you've probably picked up on the fact that I have a different kind of relationship with my extended family, including my grandparents. I like to give the analogy that I don't have "cookie baking grandparents". Regardless, they are still my family, and I wanted to make an effort to see them for the sake of my babies. Needless to say, the visit was short and sweet, and ended up being much more pleasant that I had anticipated. See what I mean about having no expectations?! It paid off this time... no guarantees for next time ;)
Another goodbye that we had to deal with a few days ago was with a great friend of ours. This was one of those uncertain ones. Not sure if they are gonna come back, and there's always that chance that you may not see them again. Nonetheless, we sent him off with lots of hugs and love.
Goodbyes are not easy, and they definitely aren't fun. Unfortunately, they are a necessary part of life. As the seasons of life bring us into new chapters with new "weather", we can only hope that with these new seasons come new friends and people who are close to our hearts.
How do you deal with saying goodbye to someone you love or care about?
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