Goodbye

Do you know who you are? Can you describe yourself in clear, direct and honest terms? I think everyone should not only be able to do so, but be willing.

There are areas in which I am quite proficient, and I can easily list those, but I can also just as easily list the areas that are a struggle. For the love, let us not discuss engines, computer programming, equations, the periodic table, or Minecraft. None of us will have an enjoyable time if this is as interesting as the conversation will get. By far though, my most unmarketable skill, is the art of saying "goodbye." I don't even like temporary ones. I drag out all the evenings and events just to avoid those final moments. Can't we all just be together all the days? I will never get any better at this process. Perhaps someone could offer a class. Perhaps there are some strategies that could be imparted. I'm open to suggestions. I need all the help.

Personally, though, I do not believe it gets any easier with time or exposure. If you love big. If you love deeply. Goodbyes will always be painful. Life is filled with so much uncertainty, but love can be a north star, and when it is time to go, love makes us want to stay. And it is in these moments that I find myself without words. The very thing that is as natural as breathing and I am at a loss. In the movies, eloquence is most poignant at goodbye, but in real life I find it just is not the case. I trust that those I love can read my heart. And in it they see all the words I cannot express.

I've witnessed beauty in final goodbyes. I have heard heartfelt tributes. I have seen immeasurable pain overshadowed by hope. Hope is a gift.

Goodbye. It is likely the most difficult word in our concept of communication. Audible. Or not. Goodbye. Whether goodbye for days, weeks, a season, or a lifetime. It is the closing of a chapter of time. So we wait. Anxiously. For the day when the word "goodbye" no longer holds any sway...