Today we had to say goodbye to the foreign exchange student that had become a part of our family for the last 4 weeks.
I guess I knew that we would eventually have to say goodbye, but it wasn't really on mind until the last week or so. We had been having so much fun, keeping busy and getting to know each other. The fact that his time with our family would be so short didn't seem to weigh down on us. That is until he brought me an evaluation form that I needed to fill out prior to his departure. Even then my answer to him was why worry about it now, you don't leave for 5 more days. Trying to put off the inevitable.
Then, this morning came and it was time to pack him up and take him to his group of peers from France who will fly back with him today. We made small talk at the place of departure, had a group photo taken, hugged him and said goodbye. I shed a few tears, selfishly thinking that I felt so sad to say goodbye. Then, I saw the look on my son's face and knew that I would have to be strong for him. My son fell apart in the car, he had really bonded with this boy over the last month. In a sense they had become brothers to one another, and if not that, best friends. I knew for the last week that for Alec, the goodbye would be hard, but I had no idea how bad it was going to be. Then I realized that my children have never had to say goodbye to anyone close to them. My daughter has had a couple of friends move away, but none of those friends had been all that close to her. My son has never had a friend move. He has the same best friend that he has had since 2nd grade and I doubt that particular friend will ever move, and neither will we. So for him, this is unchartered territory.
I guess I could call this day a teachable moment for all 3 of my children. That in life, we meet people, we say goodbye and we move on. I even tried that logic for about a minute with him. He wasn't buying it, and neither was I. When you really bond with someone, goodbye is really hard, no matter what. This is an example of the old cliche "time heals all wounds".
In response to my son's pain, I sent him to the soccer camp that he is signed up for. He will only be there for 90 minutes. I hope that time with some friends, doing the thing he loves the most will get his mind off of his pain. If not, I will remind myself that he will feel better tomorrow and even better the day after that. He will feel better, that I am sure of.
Thankfully, we live in a day and age where Facebook makes daily communication possible and video conferencing will make it possible for him to talk to his new friend. I am guessing that my husband will be busy setting that up for Alec in the upcoming days.
