Moving Part 2

I found out in the same day that two of my best friends are moving away. Both of them are leaving at the end of this month and I already feel the gaping hole in my life. One of these women was my first friend when we moved here 7 years ago. We've spent hours watching each other's children, eaten countless meals together, we've celebrated many birthdays and even a few Thanksgivings with each other. We've explored D.C. together and gone away on girl weekends. We've talked for hours and hours and hours and know a lot about each other. Between us we've given birth to six children while we've been friends and helped each other through challenges. She is sensitive and kind and our hearts and families have intertwined around each other the past 7 years in a special way. It will be sad to say goodbye when they move across the country in two weeks.

My other friend moved here 3 years ago and I instantly liked her and her family. We have been serving together in our church's youth organization for the past two years and have spent many hours playing volleyball, going sailing, teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, discussing problems, praying for guidance and planning special events. We've gone on lots of walks and spent hours at the park watching our little kids play and helped each other in many ways. She understands me and is a great listener and I appreciate her calm and measured approach to life.

These wonderful women and their families are my neighbors, part of my church family, my friends, an important part of my support system, the ones I call when I need help with my kids or want to have fun. They care about me and my family. Knowing they are leaving soon has certainly made me appreciate how valuable a good friend is and how important they are to me. My heart is slightly broken at the loss of their close association but I will try to put on a good face and be happy for their new opportunities and keep my selfish, sad tears to a minimum because that's what friends do for each other.