saying goodbye

Tonight the boys and I had a good cry over all the changes going on.   We've had a rough few days- they've been GOOD days, don't get me wrong- filled with fun and hard work and exciting changes, but not a whole lot of "family connecting time".  

I was tucking them in bed tonight and reminded them to get to sleep quickly so they didn't sleep in too late tomorrow and miss us before we left for the airport.  They both started bawling- but not because we're leaving- because we're moving.  They're SO upset about leaving our neighbors.  And truthfully, I am too.  And I know our neighbors are as well... last weekend we sat out on Gary and Linda's new deck and had a few drinks and the kids played Bocce ball with Gary and Ryan.  Linda got choked up watching the kids play- she said that's what she wants her back yard to look like- people over there having fun, kids playing.  She said she always thought she'd get to watch our kids grow up.  And that Amelia just has this special spot in her heart- she just adores her.  

Gaw.  I'm about crying now.   We just LOVE our neighbors.  And the Kelleys--- our kids have grown up together!  They're like siblings.  Its going to be so so hard to leave them. SO hard.  I know that changes are hard but will bring lots of new, good things into our lives, but it really sucks to have to say goodbye to people we love so much.

I tried to explain to the boys that goodbye doesn't mean we won't ever see them again.   Its like our family- we don't live next door to them, but we still love them and still see them.  Same goes for the Pattons and Kelleys.   We will always love them and miss them, but we can always call them or email or text them and see them if we want!  We just have to make time for it.   Porter wanted to get a picture of them, so I told him we'd make sure to take pictures with them before we move so we can put their pictures up at our new house.  I told them that Gary, Linda and the Kelleys will ALWAYS have a special place in our hearts because they were a big part of our lives the past 7 years.

I'm also so nervous about our new neighbors.  Its hard to think of a move as if we are "trading" off one set of neighbors for another.  It kind of is.  Moving is give and take... compromise.   We're trading off a smaller house for a larger one.  We're choosing a home that suits us better.  But, the trade off is we're also trading in our neighbors, community, school as well.  So, we have to pray and hope that what we're trading ends up being good for us.   So far we really like our new neighbors but we don't know them well enough to know if they are truly down to earth type people.  My gut feeling right now is that they won't really be people (wives) that I hang out with and get close to, but so far our kids get along SO well and love each other.  Time will tell.

I'm trying to remind myself that we've been so blessed with amazing neighbors and we're so lucky to have people in our lives that make it hard to say goodbye.