End Chapter

We're closing a chapter in our lives.

I have one day left at my workplace; my residents are crying and protesting my departure. (Said one, "Tell your husband I'm mad at him!")

We have two weeks left at church--and this coming Sunday we'll be giving our "farewell talks." My Primary kids are protesting, too. One girl in particular has been asking for weeks, "Why are you leeeeeaving us???"

It feels good to be loved.

Makes me wish I'd kept up better with all my friends. Or, really, with ANY of you. I'm such a terrible long-distance friend. And by "long-distance," I really mean anything that doesn't have us in the same room for hours at a time several times a week. I feel like I can quietly walk away from my friends and acquaintances and have my absence unnoticed because my presence has been so sporadic (to the point of being almost nonexistent). My residents and my Primary kids see me regularly. They will miss me, at least temporarily. (The residents may be very temporary . . . many of them may forget by Monday.)

We can certainly chalk it up to being "busy," but you and I both know that "busy" is just a more efficient (and more tactful) way of saying that we don't have time for one another, and that we'd rather be doing other things than hanging out. I guess that's been my fatal flaw all along--not wanting to sacrifice to maintain friendships. I realize now, as I sort through the back corners of my closets, shelves, and cabinets, that friendships can just as easily be forgotten. And just like that "lost" favorite sweater, you love it when you remember that you have it. And when push comes to shove, you just don't really want to throw it away, even if you've only worn it once in the past year.

The benefit lost friendships have over sweaters is that they don't take up extra closet space.

So, I'll pack them all. Unlike all my other possessions, which are in the midst of being evaluated for their utility, you are all coming with me. No questions asked.