Hello, Goodbye …

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Hello, Goodbye …

September 29, 2011 by belinda

One of my best friends was recently visiting from Australia. Glen Lake and I spent a lovely day with her in Georgetown and back at our house, only to say goodbye in the early evening as Glen Lake went to bed. The next morning when Glen Lake woke up, she was gone.

For all the routine and consistency that Glen Lake has in her life, yet another whirlwind trip got us talking about how she is also very familiar with the concept of goodbye.

My Dad came to visit in July to help with ordinary life since I was on limited activity. It is a big trip and I couldn’t have been more grateful, yet I know that if I found myself living on the opposite side of the world from Glen Lake, as I do from my parents, that I would do the same. We all struggle with this distance … it’s the kind of distance that crosses time zones and cultures. There is comfort that comes with being a drive or short flight away. It is gut-wrenching, by contrast, to be a few days and a few thousand dollars away from a family emergency, for example. There is distance … and then there is distance of the tyrannical kind.

When my Dad left, we had yet another traumatic airport farewell. I didn’t actually get to wave goodbye as he disappeared down the escalator because a sympathetic lady noticed the miserable pregnant woman standing with a small child in a large airport and struck up a conversation. It went something like, Her: “It’s okay, he’ll be back. Where is he going?” Me: “That’s my Dad. He lives in Australia.” Her: “Oh. OH.”

I was still upset in the car, and Glen Lake asked what was wrong. She said “Are you crying Mummy?” I told her yes and she said “Are you sad for Granddad?” I said yes again, and she said “Ohhh I’m sad too.” She gave me her pigeon and said “Just put your thumb in your mouth and hold Boo.” He is quite the friend.

Since then, another good friend who lives here returned to Australia for an extended holiday. We had lunch before she left and farewelled her. We saw another close friend a few times in the lead-up to his permanent return to Australia. Thankfully, as he departed, the other friend returned, offering a considerable distraction. Another friend, also Australian, came to visit from Croatia, our lifeguard, who Glen Lake grew to love, returned to Serbia, and then we had this recent visit that prompted me to think that Glen Lake likely sees Australia as a giant vacuum.

It’s okay, because it’s life, and because kids are adaptable. But even when you’re two, you get that sometimes goodbyes require some extra comfort from your favourite Boo.