Monday, June 15, 2009

Bittersweet goodbye


Well, my best friend in the whole wide world, Craig, went back to FLA yesterday.

We have a love-hate relationship at times.

One of my worst attributes is being very judgemental (because I am always right!!).

I tell him he is so predictable. He has the same drill every day, and the same sequence of events the day he arrives in town and beyond.

However, one event that is so predictable time after time after time is when you have to say goodbye to someone.

This time, his visit went by kind of slowly, which was a blessing.

But a few days before he was set to take off, melancholy set in, the time sped up, and there was a sadness in the air even though he was still here.

These are the winding down days when I am actually as predictable as my friend.

You can never quite perfect saying goodbye.

And for me, it's never a happy series of events.

I want to spend as much time with him as I can but know he really should spend the bulk of the time with his mother, whom he will not see for, who knows how long.

Then departure day. Very predictable. I should judge myself and brow beat myself for the 'ground hog day' mentality of this particular day.

You know it's gonna come, but it's never easy.
The empty, blah feeling swarms in and you just can't shake it.

I usually get up, sing at Church and then right afterward, we'll have brunch and I'll whisk him off to the airport.

Cleveland's airport leaves a lot to be desired at this present time, and there is no place to grab a bite or visit. But I want to hold on to the moment just a bit longer so I walk inside with him and we grab a few chairs and just visit for a few minutes more.

Finally, it's that dreaded moment when he has to walk through security, which I am banned from without a ticket.

I wait. I watch. I wave.

He moves a few more people.

I wait. I watch. I wave.

Finally, he's out of sight and I must snap back into harsh reality trying to savor the sweet sendoff and rely on the enjoyable memories until, hopefully, one day we greet each other again.

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