Goodbyes are always hard, and this was an especially hard week. The family of Natasha Richardson and a family in our community both said final goodbyes— to beautiful and artistic moms who died far too young.
For children left behind, such losses can make it tough to say goodbye forever.
Because that’s how it can feel—as if any goodbye IS forever.
That was true for me, and separation issues kicked into high gear once I became a mother. I found it incredibly intolerable to say goodbye to my children, no matter how long the separation. It took me more than 6 years to leave overnight—and far longer to finally master the art of saying goodbye.
By now, constant goodbyes to those I love most have become the rule, not the exception. So I’ve learned how to do what I can’t seem to do in other areas of life: keep it simple.
Never linger over saying goodbye.
Never say goodbye in anger.
Never focus on the parting; but on the person.
As I said goodbye to both of my children, this weekend the goodbyes had a particular poignancy. And I held two other families in my heart as I held my own children in my arms.
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