My best friend is leaving Charlotte. In about a week. There is a part of me that just wants to grab her and cry and tell her she can't go.
Don't leave! You can't me leave me here with all these kids! What will I do without you?
But then another part of me says it doesn't matter where she is.
No matter how far away you are, you will always remain a true and active friend in my life. A couple hundred miles? Pah! Just try me. I love you for who you are, not where you are. Do you really think moving away will get rid of me? Not a chance. I'm stubborn. Plus now I have a great excuse to kiss my family goodbye, blow this town, jump on an airplane and come visit you. I ain't afraid of no snow.
But there is one thing I can't shake as I think back to all the memories through all these years. I met Liza on a group date night with Ryan Homes in the fall of 1998. I remember the night like it was yesterday, but I have no pictures to show for it. I remember visiting her three days after she gave birth to her first child. SHE made ME dinner! But I have no pictures to show for it. There have been hundreds of times we've just hung out. Thousands of glasses of wine, and even more laughs. There have been tears. And even miles covered (how in the world did I ever get her to start running??). Yet I have no pictures. I have the memories in my heart, but no pictures in my hands.
As a mom I am aware of how fast my children grow and change. They are photographed almost daily. Yet when it comes to MY life, to MY friends, well, I regret I haven't been as diligent. It's not that I will ever forget those times. I just wish I had a way of preserving them forever. For everyone. Friendship deserves to be documented. It deserves to be shown off and displayed. It deserves to be preserved and used as an example. Do me a favor, pick up that camera and take picture of ALL the people around you. You never know when they are going to get up and leave.
2 comments:
Love this post Kirsten! I was once the one leaving Charlotte and there are so many days I look back and wish I had more pictures of the memories . . . But Liza and I have maintained such a close friendship even with the miles between us and we almost always remember the camera to capture the chance meet ups now . . . I wish you peace as you move forward with out Liza just around the corner! She certainly is a special someone! She is lucky to have you too!!!
Thanks for your comment Kerry. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without Liza around, and I'm really bummed that I'm about to find out. Friends like her are so few and far between. It breaks my heart she's going to add to that *far* factor.
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