Until We Meet Again

Today we said so long to some of our very sweet friends. Victoria Olszowy is on her way to the great adventure of college at James Madison University, and Veronica has decided to try out dance team at her high school and not return to the dance studio in the fall. We spent a few hours at the Olszowys' house this afternoon, getting the girls haircuts and spending some time with our friends for the last time for a while. We all had a great time. All three girls had fun watching this year's recital video with the girls they have come to consider pseudo big sisters; I had a really nice conversation with Debbi, a fellow dance mom who has become a dear friend. What I treasured most was how little the situation affected my children. I'm sure much of that was because the younger girls don't fully understand what is happening, as well as Ava having already had her sad moments at the dance recital a month and a half ago. But I think that even at the age of 6, Ava has come to realize that we rarely truly say good-bye to anyone. We have said many good-byes in her short life, and yet we still stay connected to those we are close to. I'm sad that she has had to learn this lesson already, but am very happy that Ava no longer sees good-byes as a permanent farewell; rather, we are just saying so long until our paths cross again.