Tomorrow we will be saying au revoir to some really good friends. Bill was once Don's superior when they were both on the CGC Ida Lewis in Rhode Island. He and his wife Tara, and their then-two-year-old daughter moved to Maryland at the same time we transferred here. For three years we have lived in houses about a hundred yards from each other. We have both added a second child to our families in that time. They were the ones I called at 2 a.m. when I went into labor with William; Tara came over to stay with Amy. We have shared two Thanksgivings and one Easter as family. We have traded sugar, lawn mowers, decorating ideas, babysitting, and evenings hosting dinner. We have met each others' parents. I can say without equivocation that I think of them as family and I am quite confident that we will always be in each others' lives (there are already plans for 2 visits in the next 6 weeks) but what I will miss most is that sense of company and comfort that comes from knowing that there is someone right around the corner. Especially when we are so far from our own families.
I'm feeling sappy not just because we are losing the nearness of very dear friends, but because this is just the beginning of a season of change throughout our lives. Our own parents are on the verge of moves. We are waiting anxiously to hear whether or not Don was accepted to OCS - and by extension whether we will be moving this year or next. We wonder what the next 12 months will hold for us and what decisions will be made in that span of time. As I watch our friends' house get packed into boxes I can only bide my time until we know the circumstances will be when we start packing our house into boxes. So many unknowns, yet much confidence that it will all come together just as it is supposed to. It always does.
No comments:
Post a Comment