Right now, as I type this, there is a whole gaggle of kids jumping on the trampoline outside of my window. Elizabeth's friends have come over. Josh's friends are here with more on their way over. Andy is about to hook up with one of his buddies, and Miss Sarah is playing over at a friends house. As the kids have gotten older their friends have become a bigger part of their lives. They still know that family comes first, but with some of these kids the line of friend and family member becomes blurred so that they are seemingly one in the same.
One of my most favorite of my kids friends, is one of Josh and Andy's best friends. I call him my other son because over the course of time I have grown to love him so very much. He refers to me as 'mom' and knows that he is just one of the fold. He came over this afternoon as he does most afternoons after school, and I heard him calling one of their other buddies saying, "Meet us over at Gregg's. We are all over here.". I almost started to cry right there on the spot because I know that the days are numbered for those words to take place.
This move is so good for our family for so many different reasons, but saying, "see you later" to so many loved ones is proving to be more difficult than I imagined. I am finding the most trouble when I think about saying farewell to this fabulous group of kids that mine have formed a posse with. My boys friends in particular are giving me the most heartache because they are such good boys. Andy also has a great friend, who happens to be female, that he has known for years and years. I have always thought this young lady was the female version of Andy. Very polite, smart, independent, one of a kind. A really good girl. I have watched Andy's friendship with her blossom as of late, and it makes me sad to think that Bob and I are moving our kids away from such good friends.
Our house seems to be the meeting point for all of these kids. The central location among all of the houses that these kids reside in. It makes me teary to think that they will have to pass this house and know that we no longer live in it. I wonder what it will like for them as they move on with their lives and tell stories about 'the time that the Gregg's lived on Jennings'. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be the ones left behind.
When Bob and I decided to look into taking a promotion with his current employer we knew that most likely we would have to move out of the area. We also knew that this would have a huge impact on our families. What I didn't take into account as much as I should have was the impact that this move would have on all of those who call my kids their best friends. All of those kids who lives will be altered just a bit because we decided to pursue something that we deemed a good fit for our own family.
I will miss these kids so much. So much it hurts me. I will miss their little bouts of drama. I will miss their laughter. I will miss their neighborhood games. I will miss their sleepovers. I will miss the family on 7th street whose daughters are wonderful young ladies who have been great friends to Elizabeth (and Sarah as well). I will miss their son who is such a polite, thoughtful young man. I will miss the sweet boy from Johnson Avenue who has always shown me a sensitive side when so many others see his tough exterior. This same young man who passes gas like none other, and has been a wonderful friend to Josh. I will miss the two young ladies on Washington Avenue and Elmwood who have Sarah's saving grace. They have been her friends through thick and thin and have given her the outlet that she needs when she just wants to get away from home. I will miss the young lady on Maplewood who has been a greater friend to Andy than she will ever realize. In all of the years of homeschooling and public schooling and homeschooling again she has been a constant friend among a sea of change for him. She will never know just how much she has meant to him (and because of that to me) over these last several years. Last, but most certainly, not least I will miss the young man from Marguerite who truly has become like another son to me. He has been Josh's best friend for as long as I can remember, and over this past year or so has also become one of Andy's best friends. He is friend for life, and I hope my boys can maintain a friendship with him forever. I love him so much. He is a wonderful, sweet, loving young man. He has been a blessing to have around here, and the thought of not seeing him (or any of these other kids for that matter) on a near daily basis is something I cannot fathom right now.
So, as these numbered days count down I will look forward to as many opportunities as I can to hear the laughter of these kids at my house. To listen to them planning and plotting and occasionally fighting with one another will be a gift. Because I know that all too soon these 10 days will have dwindled down to 0, and then nothing will ever be the same again.
No comments:
Post a Comment