Moving On

Today our neighbors confirmed that they have sold their condo and in a few months will move several blocks away. When I originally heard they were thinking of selling, I felt a tightness in my chest which I have come to recognize as a “sense of loss.”

The first time I remember feeling this way was when my childhood friend moved to Texas. She was the first person of any significance to move “out” of my life. “Out” being physical space in this case, as we still maintain pretty close contact. Even though our lives had taken many turns; she being a year older than I graduated school ahead of me, had a job before me, we both married and divorced (never at the same time); when she told me she was moving I was devastated.

The next great feeling of loss that I had was when my boss left the States to return to Holland. Work was the one area of my life where I felt like I succeeded. I grew a lot at my job; received my degree while working, got a greater exposure to the arts, and had an opportunity to grow professionally – all of which greatly built my sense of self. This I owed to my boss. I realize that my grief over his leaving also encompassed the end of an era as our company was working its way out of business. We had a great working environment, but it was my boss who treated me with respect and appreciated my opinion and judgment that really made this a formative period in my life.

Regularly, friends sort of fade out of the picture, so the loss of the relationship is less apparent. People move out of the area, change jobs, get married, have babies and form new circles of relationships that require time and attention.

Although I know our neighbors aren't moving far, I had found comfort in knowing there was someone down the hall that we really like and can depend upon to hold our key and keep an eye on things when we're not around. While we won't have the peace of mind of having good people/friends down the hall, we can do our best to maintain our friendship from a few blocks away.

The weekend is just about over – and it was a beautiful one!