Saying Goodbye...

As adults we often forget how hard it is being a kid. A couple weeks ago my oldest daughter said, “It’s so hard to be a kid! You’re not a kid anymore, you don’t know what it’s like.” I laughed. Having someone cook and clean for you, in addition to being able to play most of the day. Yeah, it’s hard being a kid, I thought sarcastically. In fact, I thought it was so funny I wrote down what she said and shared it with my mom; I was surprised by her response.

“You clearly don’t remember, but it IS hard being a kid.”

After giving it more thought she was right. It’s hard understanding and accepting things when you’re little. Learning to control your emotions, frustrations, expressing yourself, and regularly being told no, etc...

This really sunk in a couple weeks ago when a friend confirmed they would be moving to Northern California about 8 hours away. While I was saddened by the news, I knew it would be really tough on my girls. When I initially mentioned the move to my hubster my oldest daughter cried and cried; she was utterly heartbroken (I was too).

Childhood friendships are often the most magical, powerful friendships we form in life. As we get older the dynamics of our friendships change. Yes, we will continue to have and make new strong, meaningful friendships - but they’re nothing like the friendships we build as children.

My friend and I scheduled one last play date for the girls to get together before the move this week. In anticipation of an emotional and difficult goodbye I thought about a small gift my girls could give their friends...

Friendship bracelets! Simple but meaningful; an absolutely perfect gift. I cruised around on Etsy until I found exactly what I wanted on Quiet Mischief’s Etsy shop. The owner Michele was wonderful to work with and made 4 beautiful friendship bracelets in the favorite color of each girl.

I explained to the girls, friendship bracelets are a symbol of their friendship. Despite the distance between them they will always remain friends. While the friendship bracelets didn’t take away the pain of saying goodbye, it helped soften the hurt and disappointment (even if only a little).