Prematurely Grieving
Prematurely Grieving
After hugging my friend tightly at her car, I turned toward mine. As I sat behind the wheel, I felt something; sadness mixed with grief. My eyes began to well with tears. I was feeling change in the air; the summer warmth leaving to make space for the autumn chill. I was going to miss her. I was going to miss THIS – Friendship.
This chapter of my life with friends was closing. I feared the change in this relationship and others I had created. I didn’t want them to become lame social media connections.
I wasn’t ashamed of my emotions; it meant I had developed meaningful bonds with people I had connected with since moving here in 2015. I had met women and men who saw me for who I was and not who I was married to.
I will always be grateful to the many people I met through Century Body, the Zumba studio I joined in 2016. This community embraced me quickly and I connected with people across cultures, race, and age. During happy hours, movie nights, and other small gatherings, I got to know people more intimately. This place of belonging will always hold a place in my heart. The good thing is, I know what I want when searching for a place to work out in Charleston. The bad part is, CB has set the bar and I will compare all other studios to it.
Also, I will miss some of the people I have worked with from day to day - managers who had believed in me, talented people I had learned from, those who had prayed for me, and grieved with me in some of my darkest hours. We shared lunch, jokes, stories about families, and shared many laughs. I am grateful.
I will miss having the option to jump into the car to see my family on a whim. Instead of being a day trip away in my car to sit on the porch of my childhood home, I will be an airplane ride away. I won’t be able to just decide at the last minute to go hang out with my siblings to watch the Bengals play on any given Sunday. I will miss them.
The church members, Mary Kay Sisters, mentors, clergy spouses, the couple across the lawn from our home, all will be missed in their own special way. There is not enough space and time to share what their relationships have meant to me and my journey.
Transitions aren’t new to me but, that doesn’t make this move any easier. As I left friends in Cincinnati, I cultivated relationships in Columbus. I never thought those relationships would become so meaningful. I trust these current friendships will remain. As I move into my next relationships, I will be surrounded by people, and will cultivate meaningful friendships like those I have already been blessed to have.
