Saying Farewell

It's been a rough few months of saying goodbye to a lot of really good friends. It seems like it's been a constant stream of people moving away. It's usually to be expected around the end of a school year or semester, but some came as surprises.

The first to go were our friends, Danny and Rachel O'Brien. I got to know Rachel through being her visiting teacher. She is such a fun, kind, and genuine person. She is from the south and exudes this sweet, southern charm. I adored her from the moment I met her. I loved getting to see her each month, but enjoyed even more when our friendship was something more than a monthly visit. She and her husband moved down to Arizona at the end of January. Her husband will be going to school in the fall, but they went down early to get jobs and save some money. I'm happy that they are in AZ, close to Miles's family, so that hopefully we will see them when we go down for visits.

We had a going away party at the Gunnell's home before they left. We made homemade pizzas and pazookies (huge, doughy cookies with ice cream on top).

Then we played a fun game that included some awesome charades. 

Here is are a couple pictures of Danny and Rachel. The first was the best lighting and focus, but Danny is smiling in the second one.

And here is Owen just being a goof.

And of course we had to take a group picture. Goofy pictures first (the O'Briens were not aware we were being silly), and then a normal shot.

The next friends to leave were Chase and Christy Gunnell, who are pictured above. They left at the end of April after Chase graduated from BYU Law School and got a job as a JAG officer in Washington DC. Sadly we didn't get any pictures at our "farewell dinner" at the park. But we've had a lot of fun adventures with them throughout the past couple years. We first met them at a gingerbread house making party that our good friends, the Roses (also friends who have moved away), invited us to. We got to know them through different functions we were at together and eventually found that we adored them so much and wanted them all to ourselves. ;) Honestly though, Miles and I both really enjoyed our time with them. They are so much fun, always making us laugh, and genuinely care about us. And I can say for myself that when I am around them, they make me want to be a better person. Christy is one of the most Christ-like people I know. They have left a big hole in our hearts...and social life.

Shortly after the Gunnells left, Zack and Katherine Olsen decided to move to Germany. Ugh. While we hadn't spent as much time with them as we would have liked, our time together was always quality. I am pretty sure there was never a 10-15 minute period of time that we weren't laughing hysterically over something or other. Both of them have so much personality and are a joy to be around. I feel like we automatically fit together and connected. It was a friendship that didn't take much effort. (Except to find time together...which was always hard with Katherine's demanding schedule!) ;) Not to mention, they were always super willing to babysit Owen for us, and did on a few occasions.

For our farewell, we went to Pizzeria 712. None of us had been before (except Miles for a business lunch), but I would definitely go back. Yum! 

Owen thought it was hilarious when Miles and I would squeeze his head/face between our hands.

Before we headed back to our place to hang out for a bit before they had to return to packing, Zack swung Owen around outside. Owen was in heaven. 

Then Owen sat and flirted with Katherine on the bench. 

We sure will miss them, but are also happy to know we have such an awesome contact to go visit in Germany. We are already making tentative plans for the end of 2013... :)

Lastly (Oh wait, never mind. There are still plenty of friends planning to leave in the near future...) Anyway, as I was saying, our most recent friends to abandon us move away are Ben and Bridget Reed. This one hits close to home for me because Bridget has been one of my long-standing best friends.

I first met Bridget when we were both living in Wymount back in 2001. A friend of mine needed someone to come visiting teaching with her. We went to see Bridget. Ben was deployed at the time. Not too long after that, we became good friends, and our friendship continued to build over the years. We've been through a LOT together. When I went through my divorce, Bridget was a constant support. Poor Ben. I'm sure he felt like he had an extra wife (that he didn't ask for) around all the time. Either that, or that his own wife was being taken away all the time. Each night after work I would call Bridget and we would make plans for dinner. Most often she would cook, but sometimes I would too, or we'd discuss if I needed to pick something up from the grocery store. Then in the evenings, she would come over and watch trashy TV with me to keep me company. It was awesome. Oh, and we lived in the same building, so it wasn't hard to see each other All.The.Time.

She has also been there to throw me TWO important showers in my life - my wedding shower for my second marriage, and my baby shower for Owen (with Haley). She has been a huge support to me as a friend and in the last two years, as a mother. I rely on her advice constantly. She was so good to let Owen and me drop in at any given moment for random play dates. And she is always available for a 5 min or 2 hour phone conversation.

One of the best things about her, is that she laughs at my jokes. Always. She definitely makes me feel like I'm funny. We seem to understand one another too, and even though we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, it has never once caused contention for us, and typically we just end up making jabs at the other person and laughing about it. Some of my most incredible recipes are from her. I seriously am a better cook because of her. And of course I am always eager to steal her creativity and use it to my advantage. A lot of times she seems pretty perfect to me, but is so awesome because I never feel like I'm less of a person, woman, wife or mother when I am around her. Also, she accepts my "dark" side without question or judgement. I'm pretty sure I could go on for multiple paragraphs, but I'll stop for now.

Ben was in school studying to become a chaplain. He graduated and got stationed with the Army in Kentucky. Boo! I knew it was coming, but it was still really hard. One of the last times we planned to see each other, I was waiting to hear from her. She hadn't gotten back to me, and I knew they were really busy with family in town and getting ready to leave. Miles came home and asked where Bridget was. I started to cry. I told him I wasn't sure if I was going to get to see her again and I was so sad about her leaving. Not just one of my best friends, but yet one more friend in a long list of people I loved who was leaving. He told me to just call her, but I didn't want to bother her. About 1 minute after we finished the conversation, she called me to say she was on her way. Of course Miles mocked me relentlessly in front of Bridget. Gratefully, she said she was feeling similarly. Now that's a good friend! :)

Currently, she and her kids are staying in St. George with her parents while Ben is in training back east. And I may get to see her not once, but twice more this summer before they head off into the blue yonder. That has eased some of the pain, but it's still not easy.

I think this was most apparent to me when my friend, Haley Molyneux, came back for a visit. They moved the end of last summer up to Canada for Braden to go to school. He since has decided to forego school and work instead. They stopped in UT for a visit on their way to Colorado until he gets a job. Anyway, she mentioned that he might get a job in Wisconsin. I started crying when she talked about them moving. She said, "Kendra, we're already gone! We're just here for a visit." And while I knew that, having one of my best friends return was just a reminder of what I was missing out on and how many people have moved out of my life.

I know I'll make more friends, and that the friendships I have can develop into something deeper. But in the meantime, it's hard to lose so many close friends at once. If we were the ones moving, it would make more sense and would be obvious that I needed to start fresh. Now I feel like I'm starting fresh in a place I've lived in forever. I told Miles we just need to move - before anyone else can leave, we leave first! Ha. I know. I'm being ridiculous. Anyway...I do love all these people, AND all of the wonderful people who are still in my life.

And as my Mom always said...

Make new friends, but keep the old
One is silver, the other is gold