Here's to Goodbye
Today I said a final farewell to a family we have been friends with for a long time. They're Navy, and are being transferred. I saw them drive away, and thought about how much I wished we had spent more time together. We did bar-b-q's and birthday parties, but not incredibly often. They have 2 children, and for both of us, life is hectic. The sad part about spending more time together, is that at some point, you know your friends are going to leave. That's what the Navy life is: never in the same place for a long time and even if you stay, everyone else around you doesn't.
In the past 5 years, I have said 'goodbye' to so many people. I've made so many fiends and lost them due to a relocation. Almost everyone I've gotten to know, has left. We always have the best intentions of staying in touch and through Myspace, occasionally we do. Not as much as I'd like, but we keep up on each other's family updates, and send 'happy birthday' shout-outs. I don't dislike Washington but whenever someone leaves, I feel jealous. They're starting out on a new adventure: seeing the country, meeting new people... and we're here. I guess I also feel slightly abandoned. Which may be childish, and I should be happy for them, but I'm not. And honestly, I don't really want to move. The only areas of the country we have the option of relocating to, I don't want to be. I'd ultimately like to say 'goodbye' to the military lifestyle, and go somewhere we chose to be, because we love it.
I'm not only sad for me, but also for my boys. They've made so many friends that they have had to let go of. They're young, and eventually the kids fade out of their heads as they get older, but throughout their entire childhood, they'll have to make new friends and say 'goodbye' to old ones at least every 3 or 4 years. It's heartbreaking to know this is the life they will have for the next 14 years.
I have been there through pregnancies, the birth of children, the long patrols, 'we're finally here!' parties and going away parties. For hospital stays, shopping trips, and 'my kids are driving me crazy!' phone calls. The friendships I've had have meant so much to me, and it's deeply saddening to have to let them go.
In the past 5 years, I have said 'goodbye' to so many people. I've made so many fiends and lost them due to a relocation. Almost everyone I've gotten to know, has left. We always have the best intentions of staying in touch and through Myspace, occasionally we do. Not as much as I'd like, but we keep up on each other's family updates, and send 'happy birthday' shout-outs. I don't dislike Washington but whenever someone leaves, I feel jealous. They're starting out on a new adventure: seeing the country, meeting new people... and we're here. I guess I also feel slightly abandoned. Which may be childish, and I should be happy for them, but I'm not. And honestly, I don't really want to move. The only areas of the country we have the option of relocating to, I don't want to be. I'd ultimately like to say 'goodbye' to the military lifestyle, and go somewhere we chose to be, because we love it.
I'm not only sad for me, but also for my boys. They've made so many friends that they have had to let go of. They're young, and eventually the kids fade out of their heads as they get older, but throughout their entire childhood, they'll have to make new friends and say 'goodbye' to old ones at least every 3 or 4 years. It's heartbreaking to know this is the life they will have for the next 14 years.
I have been there through pregnancies, the birth of children, the long patrols, 'we're finally here!' parties and going away parties. For hospital stays, shopping trips, and 'my kids are driving me crazy!' phone calls. The friendships I've had have meant so much to me, and it's deeply saddening to have to let them go.
posted by Amanda Nunnally at
3:00 PM
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