Goodbyes and Hellos

For me, this has been a bittersweet week. Two of my dear friends are moving halfway across the country. One will be leaving and one will be coming. The blessing for both of them is that they are moving closer to home, especially since they are both expanding their families.

So let me start with the goodbye. When I was about 5 months pregnant with Reed, I met another pregnant woman in my yoga class whose due date was about 4 days before mine. We discovered we lived a few close blocks away and the rest was history. Benjamin was born a week before Reed and we started getting together nearly daily it seemed to take walks and talk. It was amazing to have a friend to navigate through this new-found state of motherhood that seemed at moments so natural and others so foreign. We seemed to be going through same things at the same time with our boys. Consequently, the boys naturally became friends over the years.

The challenge with this goodbye was it wasn't just me saying goodbye to a wonderful friend, it was also Reed's first goodbye to a friend. He wasn't pleased. He directed them to stay. No, he wasn't pleased, but he has come to terms with it. They left on Wednesday and the past two nights Reed and I have been telling a bedtime story about our family building an airplane in our backyard and flying cross-country to Idaho. Reed, of course, is the driver and he's always tickled about the part where he gets to drive home in his pajamas because it's getting late.

Best wishes to the Mellos! You will not be soon forgotten!

Benjamin and Reed - First Friends

Melissa and I with the kids

On to my hello! One of by dearest, bestest friends from high school will be saying sayonara to Washington, D.C. tomorrow morning and heading to the good old Land of Lincoln. Wes will be working for the FBI in Chicago (Am I allowed to say that? Is it top secret? Why did a black car with tinted windows just stop in front of my house?) They will be living in Chicago while they house-hunt. While I know they won't be moving in a few blocks over, I am thrilled that they will be in the Chicagoland area. I am counting on some playdates with Hadley and Jen in the future. I can't wait!

Safe travels and can't wait to see you all soon!