Goodbyes are Never Easy

Almost four years ago, we walked into Austen's school for orientation to his new toddler classroom and little did we know that would be the beginning of some great friendships not only for our children but for us as parents too. Sure there were many school activities and birthday parties where we got to know each other but we quickly realized that our kids all got along really well so we started doing more activities together too. Baseball, soccer, apple picking, Xmas tree cuttings, play dates, the beach, parks, New Year's Eve and sleep overs. (Yes, this was the group that had a sleep over when they were barely 3 years old and all survived the night.) We even got together for a mini vacation when school was out for a long Labor Day Weekend too. The important thing to note is that these kids didn't all end up in the same class as they got older. Some moved and went to different schools in Chicago, and most of us were having our second children right around the same time too. But neither of those things deterred us from continuing our activities and being friends. If anything, we saw each other more outside of school because of them. This year will be a little different though. One of those families is moving to Texas this week and another is moving to Sweden at the end of July. A lot tougher to get together so regularly. So while the kids don't really comprehend that they will now only be able to see each other when they Skype over the computer, the parents do understand the magnitude of what is happening here. We are losing those friends who were all going through the same things we were at the same time. Potty training, fights at school, the terrible twos (or fours in my case), but no matter what it was I had people that I could talk too that understood. People that were facing the same challenges I was. These friendships may have been born out of our children's young friendships but they are ones that I will certainly always remember. One of them found a quote by novelist Ally Condie that said it best: “Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that.”