On broken hearts

The changes keep coming here at the Smeltzer house.  Summer is coming to a close, I'll be returning to work, and the oldest is off to kindergarten.   All of these things are exciting and sad at the same time. 

With every day that inches toward the end of summer, we are also inching toward two very hard goodbyes.

I may or may not be tearing up while I type this.  Not because I haven't said goodbyes before, but because this time I'm saying goodbye while trying to help a sweet little girl say goodbye with a broken heart for the first time.   She is We are going to miss these friends something crazy, and we cry randomly when thinking about not seeing them anymore.  And they aren't even gone yet!

I tell my sweet almost-kindergartener that it's ok.  That God will bring her another friend.  That we still have lots of friends who aren't moving.  That God loves her and cares for her.  But inside I feel every bit of pain that she does.  It's hard for me, as an adult who has done this many times before, but how can I help her navigate this part of life?  It IS part of life.  How do I help her not become numb inside and closed off towards meeting new friends and staying open with old friends?  Have I even mastered this skill myself?  No.  So how do I teach her? 

It's just the beginning.  It is her first exposure to a broken heart, but certainly not her last. 

Our time with these sweet friends was a gift that we would not trade.  So we will focus on our favorite memories, talk about them often, hope technology can keep us connected, and maybe get a fun vacation out of it someday.  We will talk about the importance of friendship.  That we cannot walk this life alone.  We will talk and talk and talk about it until we both can talk about it without crying.  Until we can talk about it with a smile as we remember all of our fun times with them.

And to these special friends (because I'll never be able to say this face to face without crying hysterically):  We love you!  We know you can't stay forever, but we sure wish you could.  We are so glad to have had these last few years with you.  I love you and I love your kids.  And my kids feel the same way.  It will feel weird to have school without your kids, and breaks from school without our play dates, but I hope you settle in to your new homes quickly and have a super smooth transition.  I hope you get plugged in to a church and a school and a play group that makes you feel at "home", and I hope your kids make new friends quickly and I hope you do too.  We welcome you back any time.  And neither of you are allowed to delete your facebook account any time soon.