I recall after Bonny graduated from high school, that I missed seeing her friends. Young people who had been part of our lives - in and out of our house, talked about, phone calls from, issues with - were no longer there. When holidays or other events brought them back, I would think "I have missed these young people."
This exodus happened with each succeeding child. It was a sense of not so much loss, but passage of time - time that would not be re-captured. I would always say, "You are always welcome. If you are in the neighborhood or need a place to stay, let us know." And some have come by, some have stayed here. But pretty much, those individuals are memories in a photo album or a yearbook or conversations when the family gets together or when one of the kids mentions a friend.
I think sometimes I thought that this emotion was unique to me. So imagine my delight when I found this on the op-ed page of the LA Times this morning. And thank heavens it was a Saturday so I had time to stop and read it!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
a very excellent article.
I would add that i feel this also as my children leave a school. Because our town is so spread out we seldom run into certain people. Now that Ella is graduated from elementary school, so many of her friends (whose parents are my friends) are going to private schools, etc., so our interactions become much more scarce.
Interesting to think about, certainly.
Just the other day I was saying that with Melissa and Emily leaving, we won't see their friends as much. (just like when Devin left.) It will be very different and I will miss all of them. Though I admit when they are away at school it ebbs and flows, with their friends back around when they are home at breaks.
Actually, the process just repeats itself - your kids move into new settings - and you get to know more new friends too - and then the settings change.
I have even noticed that as Phoebe has moved around, I miss the places where she lived - and we visited - too. And the people she got to know there!
I guess it's just all part of the infamous "ripple" effect. Or something like that.
This was a good article. We really miss our kid's friends, too. In fact, we may never see most of them again since our "home town" is not the norm.
Post a Comment