Today, one of our best friends is moving out of state. It’s awful.

Over the years, so many of the people I care for most have moved, all around the country and sometimes overseas. And all the while, trips and vacations aside, I’ve stayed in the very same place. Geographically speaking, of course.I guess none of us ever know quite where life will take us. Growing up, a part of me couldn’t believe that I would live my whole life in the town where I was born and raised — but another part of me couldn’t stand the thought of living anywhere else. I can understand that not everyone I love can make their life work in this small corner of the world — but I hate that living the lives we want often comes at the expense of living our lives alongside the people we want.

Saying goodbye is like watching the tide retreat out to sea. You know you’ll say hello again. Next time. But you know it won’t be quite the same.

~ Laura