I knew saying good-bye to the people closest to me wasn't going to be easy. I knew there would be a few tears, some last minute words of advice, maybe even a hug or two. I am prepared for it. What I didn't expect was the logic of a 9 year old to completely break my heart.
Last night I went to dinner with a friend and his 9 year old son. Now, this friend and I have a ridiculously complicated history that I won't bore you with the details of, but I've known his son since the day he was born and love him like he was my own. So we are at dinner, each of us concentrating on our respective meals predictably not saying much because that would mean we would inevitably end up discussing that I am leaving in just over two weeks and we'll be apart for the first time in years. We choose the alternative, the solution him and I always choose, which is to ignore the issue entirely.
That is, until out of blue, the 9 year old looks at me with those big beautiful eyes and sweet innocent face and says "We need a secret handshake". At first, I'm grateful for this completely random and seemingly mundane statement. Finally - conversation!!! Then I make the mistake of asking why.
"Because you are moving so far away and if you're gone a real long time and I grow up you might not recognize me."
It takes a second for me to connect the dots, but as soon as I do the fork I was holding clatters onto the table and I have to take several very deep breaths. This poor child thinks we need a secret handshake so that I will know who he is. My heart is breaking into a million little pieces. It takes a few moments before I can gather my emotions and even speak to reassure him that there will never come a time when I don't know him. Ever.
Say it with me: O-U-C-H!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment