One of G’s friends is moving away, out west… way out west…
as far west as one can travel on this vast continent. I am sad for G. She loves
little L and talks about him often. She likes to go to play at his house and
not just because he has the coolest cubby house known to toddler kind. They
have known each other their whole lives, give or take a few weeks at the
beginning when they were mostly just sleeping anyway.
G doesn’t know yet. And how would I explain it anyway? I
know that she will miss him, and ask about him. I know that if she could
understand it she would be devastated.
 |
| 'L' by G. The likeness is uncanny. |
When I was 11 one of my best friends moved away. She didn’t
move as far as Perth. In fact she really only moved 15 miles down the road. But
since 11 year olds can’t drive, and public transport was pretty dismal the move
effectively put an end to our friendship. Or at the very least, put a big dent
in it.
Yes, I am sad for G. She doesn’t know she is losing a
friend. But I am even sadder for me.
L’s mum and I met as new mothers; we sat in a room of
sixteen or so women each clinging on to a baby with varying degrees of
trepidation (I’d say we were all pretty much winging it at that stage.) That
group kept me sane. We shared stories (mainly involving poo), swapped ideas and
developed significant friendships.
I am going to miss my friend. But I’ll wave her off knowing
that the bonds of shared experience will remain intact despite the strain of
distance and time and life in general.
Your friends are your friends no matter where they are. I
know that because I’m always saying goodbye to them! One to New Zealand. One
back to the UK. One to Hong Kong. And then there are all my friends in England
who happily waved me off for my working holiday.
I know that G and L will grow up together, it’s just going
to look a little different from how I imagined. Instead of being G’s pal with
the cool cubby, he’ll be G’s first ever pen pal.
It's hard isn't it!? My little girl's dear friend from kindy has moved and although I did try, I never got to know her mum very well so they didn't tell us. So basically they will never see each other again! Seems very sad indeed. The penpal idea is great, these days they could even Skype-pal!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think Skype pals is a great idea!
DeleteSo hard watching our kids learning these hard lessons in life. Saying goodbye is never easy - I find it difficult as an adult and am dreading August when my kids have to say goodbye to their friends when we leave the UK. Thank god for Skype!
ReplyDeleteGosh, that will be tough. Especially as your children are old enough to understand that they're moving. I don't think G will really get it. Or maybe she ail. Yes, thank god for Skype!!
DeleteOh, that's sad. Poor G.
ReplyDeleteYou've definitely got a great "round the world" trip to make as you visit all your people in their new locations. Free accommodation too. Sweet.
My friends are scattered around Australia and the world. They are still the strongest friendships a girl could wish for. Perhaps not actually seeing them constantly helps maintain that? I do spend a lot of time travelling to be with them though (and vice versa). We certainly clock up the k's and see a lot of countryside in the process.
Skype is awesome! Maybe they could have skype play dates?
Happy Friday Catherine.
Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
Skype playdates are an awesome idea!
Deleteaww :( It is hard when friends move away. Probably harder on us than it is on them, because we know what they're missing out on.
ReplyDeleteI have friends all over the place. With email it's possible to stay in touch. And when you see each other you pick up where you left off. Hugs to little G. You're first friend is particularly special :)
ReplyDeleteI think saying good bye is hard, no matter what the circumstances are
ReplyDeleteBut I am firm believer that with change good things come, so who knows what sits around the corner for little G and yourself
New adventures, new friends?
I have no doubt that G and L will always share that special bond, even if memories are hazy, photos and stories like this one, last forever xx
I hate saying goodbye to people. I remember the first time a best-friend moved away, their family were moving to Melbourne and I was 6, it was the end of the world. I cried all afternoon and evening, I cried so much that Mum had to ring Nana and Grandma so they could both talk to me on the phone and try to calm me down. Thinking back on that I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for my Mum, to see me so upset and not be able to comfort me, while dealing with her own grief at losing her best-friend as well. We had spent the last 4 years living in each others pockets as both their husbands, our Dad's, traveled extensively for work and we would often spend entire weekends at each other's houses when they were away. Ever since then I have avoided big goodbyes because its just so sucky. They eventually moved back after 7 or 8 years and while we were still friends it was never the same.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and G are ok when the time comes to say goodbye, although I'm sure you will be. We are so lucky these days to live in an age where we can skype and face time and email so quickly, much quicker than having to wait a week for a letter to arrive!
Ah crap, that was me commenting! I was logged in with the work account while I did some uploading to the work blog!
DeleteMy goodness! You've made me cry! I still miss some of my kindy and preschool friends. I'm glad you will still keep in touch. :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for today's technology which makes staying in touch with people from any corner of the world so much easier.
ReplyDeleteLiving where I do, in what I am sure is the worlds most transient city I am forever saying goodbye to people. I said goodbye to so many over the years that now I hesitate to make new ones. I am not so great at maintaining contact over distance. Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses lovely
ReplyDeleteThat is going to be hard, however kids are so resilient and move on much more quickly than us adults. Good luck x
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for Facebook. I love keeping up with old pals halfway across the world. We only spent the first three months of my eldest son's life in the UK but the mums I met at ante natal class are still pals 15 years only - thank goodness, I need them.
ReplyDeleteThis is so relevant to what I wrote about today. I find it hard to stay in touch with girlfriends on the other side of the city. I also have friends scattered across the globe. Such has been my life. I love the friendships that just pick up where they left off last time you saw them. True friendship.
ReplyDeleteI miss JJ's mothers group, who are all (well mostly all) in Melbourne... Although it is just as hard to keep in touch with my school buddies who are in Sydney, but on the other side of it. I've got very close friends that live o/s that I still keep in regular contact with. But for the rest, well, it all gets a bit too hard...
ReplyDeleteThis happened to us when my family moved from very close neighbourhood pals when our three kids were only 2. We kept a framed photo of the friends and spoke to our boy of them often. I wish they'd had skype then! I hope that G can be excited about having her first penpal and planning trips to catch up x
ReplyDeleteI hate it when people you get along so well with move away. But, what I love is that with some of my dearest friends who live around the world, we get together after not seeing each other for about 9 years, and it is like nothing is different, we start right off from where we left off!! I hope it is this way with your friend!
ReplyDeleteLittle miss 2.5 has got a best friend that I can't imagine her not being able to see. At least she has a role model that's used to keeping friendships alive when there's distance involved. I fear my laziness would win out in the end.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad when friends move and despite all our best efforts we lose touch as life just gets in the way. I have a sign that I have in my bathroom that says "side by side or miles apart, friends are always close at heart", one of my best mates gave it to me about a year ago and I always think of her when I look at it. Its a bit cheesy but definitely true I think.
ReplyDeleteYep, true friends stay true don't they! It might make it a little bit harder, as you can't just get together whenever you want, but you'll always be a part of each other's lives.
ReplyDeleteI hope that little G and L manage to stay in touch :)
xx
The title of your post is so true! I know by experience that even though I live so far from my friends in Canada, we keep contact and our friendship will always remain if we take care of it by always keeping in touch even though we don't see each other often.
ReplyDeleteSo hard for children to understand! My eldest still asks about kids at school who have moved away and for whom I have no contact details! Hopefully your little ones can maintain a connection through you x
ReplyDeleteLove this post!! I still remember the day we left England for Sydney almost 2 years ago now. I was so sad to say goodbye to my wonderful friends and family! But I am happy to say that thanks to Skype I am still in touch with almost all of them and its wonderful. When it comes to my kiddies I have found that talking about their far away friends all the time has kept the memories alive. We also have some very wonderful new friends in Sydney too. Love Mrs D plus 3.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this post on so many levels, both personally and as a mumma to a toddler and especially with our expat lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI guess the difference now is technology, we don't really need to be walking distance to be friends anymore. I think blogging has proven this!
Oh, I feel your heart break, Catherine. I have so many great, wonderful friends...most of them who live interstate or overseas. But I make the most of the time when we're together and I love how we always pick things up where we left off. And like Seana said, FB has been so great in helping with those reconnections.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you guys have established something solid to keep your friendship alive and kicking x