A Tough Goodbye

Last week, we lost some family to the west coast.  They packed up a UHaul full of the things we had known in their home for decades, and scattered a few things in new directions.   They cleaned out the wooden-planked bedrooms.  They painted the white picket fence.  They passed the windowboxes onto a new family, and began a journey to make another house become home for themselves.

Here, we waited for their moving truck to swing through packed with cats and loving faces on the way to the final destination.  We hoped for everything to be shiny for them, but our hearts filled a bit with sadness at losing our own closeness.

We wonder what their days will bring so far from everything they have known.  New horizons, new coffee shops, new neighbors, new schools.  Visits from relatives who are now the ones just a drive away.

Sometimes we need a fresh start to begin anew.

We facetimed the west coast family this morning, and took a house tour to see the digs for ourselves.  After the iPad clicked away the scene, I choked up with so much emotion.

Now Lucy and I are baking an angel food cake to make the sadness feel a little less consuming.