I'm not good with Good-Byes... I'm horrible at it in fact. I've had to say Good-Bye in recent years to too many people I Love and have spent a good part of my Life with and share many, many Happy Memories with... and it never gets easier. I have wonderful Family & Friends you see... and separation from any of them is really, really hard for me. Especially when you never know when you'll all get to see each other again? We've been used to being able to see each other often and be an intricate part of each other's lives for many, many years... so there will be a huge void. Many that began as Friendships moved into the realm of Family... where there was no distinction between blood relatives and those that 'adopted' each other and became True Family in every sense of the word!
And so here we are again... having to say Good-Bye once more... as three of the Aunties... and their Families... move to Texas next week. I am Happy for them on the one hand as they strike out on a new Life adventure and I Hope every good thing for them in their new Homes, which I Pray will be as enriching as our years here in Arizona have been. But I'm also very selfishly sad, which I'm trying to hide as best I can so that they don't feel any worse for having to leave... I don't really want them to go because the missing & separation will be so very painful for us all since I Love them so & they Love us all too. We have been so used to our closeness... and sharing time together often... watching the Children & G-Kids growing up over the years and doing so much of Life together. We share so much History... good times and bad times... and we've always been there for each other. Relationships like that are Priceless and so my Heart is aching.
So Princess T isn't the only one totally distraught... though she has spent almost every weekend since Birth visiting one or the other Aunty and staying at their homes, being indulged, spoiled and having a big time. Raising a Grandchild means that someone else has to stand in and do the "Grandparent Spoiling" thing for each of the G-Kid Force and we've been Blessed that all of the Aunties have always done that with the Young Prince R and Princess T. So it will leave a huge void in her little Life as these are the Aunties she spent her "Special" time with since her Paternal side of the Family live in Mexico. She is spending her last week at their House right now, before they leave & that time together is bittersweet for them all because they know its the last time while they are here in Arizona. She will miss the little Cousins too... as we had Hoped they might all get to grow up together just like our Children did.
And though we are all Hoping & Planning future Trips back and forth between the two States, the reality is that since neither of the Families has the resources for extensive Travel, it won't be often and a lot of time might elapse before any of us can save up enough for it... we know that... but we're all trying to ignore that unfortunate reality, at least for now. Years have passed since any of us have been able to visit extended Family in other States and Countries and I fear that this will end up the same way... with Family & Friends flung far and wide... and less and less of them here close by to spend real quality time with where we can do Life together. And so it is with a Heavy Heart that I will be saying Good-Bye yet again... not knowing when we will actually get the chance to see each other again?
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian