One of my best friends moved to Texas. (It should be noted that this isn't the first close friend of mine to pack up her adorable children and move all the way to Texas in recent years!)
Before her and her family left, she randomly brought me this orchid. It's tall and gorgeous, just like her. When it inevitably dies (I've got a black thumb!) that means I'm going to be extra sad.
We have a funny story about the start of our friendship. When it was my family's turn to clean the church building early on a Saturday morning, I sent all the kiddos and Hubby and stayed home with baby Quartus. Friend and her husband were also assigned to clean the church that morning. Apparently my girls really loved working with them, and Tertius already knew Friend because she was his Nursery teacher.
A little while later, I had all the kids with me at Walmart and we ended up in line near Friend and her husband. My kids kept waving to them and telling me that they knew them. I recognized them from church but I HATE running into people that I know when I'm shopping. If I see someone that I know, I will literally duck down a different aisle. There are only a few people that I don't do this for. I know, I'm a nutcase. So anyway, I pretended that I didn't see them and acted like I was very distracted and busy. She thought I was either really weird or really rude. Maybe both.
Eventually, I was called to serve in Nursery so we got to know each other a little.
When Quartus turned one, we had a big birthday party at our house and invited a ton of people. Friend and her husband came and when they left, she thanked me for inviting them. I said something stupid like, "Of course! We basically invited everybody."
Later it hit me how ridiculous that sounded. I'm so awkward! Basically it sounded like, "You aren't special. I was just trying to find warm bodies to fill space." The truth was that in Nursery Quartus really gravitated toward her and I was really enjoying getting to know her, too.
I immediately texted her, explained, and invited them over for dinner. That first dinner turned into many dinners and game nights.
For me, though, the connection between our two families didn't really cement until the day that I asked on social media if any of my friends would be interested in doing a regular babysitting exchange. Her husband was the only person to respond with serious interest. This was amazing to me considering we had 4 kids and they only had one baby. And for a while, we used them more than they used us. But they were so generous and kind. They love our kids. Friend and I got closer and I became a pseudo-aunt to her (now 3 total) children.
I will always cherish the memories of music class together, family dinners, and girls nights sans children.
A couple days before they left I took the two girls for the whole day so Friend could get some last packing and cleaning done. I picked them up early in the morning and we went to the zoo and played at my house. I fed them dinner one last time before dropping them back to their mommy.
Then that night we said our goodbyes. I cried buckets the whole way home.
I miss my friend, but thanks to the wonders of technology, we can still talk and keep involved with each others' lives (Love the Marco Polo app!) So saying goodbye to the kiddos was the hardest. Even though I can see videos of them and vice versa, it's not the same. They also have (real) family still in this area so they'll conceivably visit once in a while. But it's hard for little kids to maintain meaningful relationships with adults that aren't a part of their everyday life.
Despite all this sadness though, I am so excited for Friend and her family! This was such a positive opportunity for them and I can't wait to hear about all their adventures and new friends they make there.
To Texas: stop taking my friends!
To Friends: I love you and wish you all the best!
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