Saying Farewell

In these final Philadelphia days, I have quite a few farewells to wish. I have to say goodbye to the fine friends I've met here, my co-workers, and I cannot forget the great eating establishments that I will have to disengage from with my departure. Considering these farewells, I came to the conclusion that stuff here in Philadelphia took on a completely different meaning for me since I had none of my elements of comfort when I first came here. This, however, has also changed the mood of the farewells.

One of my first farewells came last night. Unfortunately, Sara and Tim Dudley took off this morning for their summer Midwestern post--Tim's research gig in Ames, IA. So, Sara and I took yesterday evening to do it up well one last time here on the Main Line; what I should really say is that we did it up well for the last time, with us both being Main Line residents. We went to Primavera Pizza Kitchen in Ardmore, where we had Caesar salads and shared an entree of tri-colored tortellini in a delicious white sauce with mushrooms and ham. Then, we shared a tiramisu dessert and had coffee. Afterwards, we made our way to Old Navy and Borders. At the end of the night, Sara handed off one of her delicious loafs of banana bread, squeezes were exchanged, and farewells were expressed.

Last August, I detested farewells; now, however, I see them in a pretty different way. They're not all laden with sadness and discontent. Now, I'm learning that they're just part of the movement into a new phase. Those who stick around for the next phase will prove just as special and as much a part of my life as before; those who will fade away in my timeline will always hold their place in my life. Sara's instruction gave me major perspective when I told her I may be sad for the first few days after our split: "How about more like 15 minutes?" By last night, she had decided there was no reason for either of us to spend a moment being sad, and she's right. Saying farewell is not an end. It's really just an opportunity to take inventory of what has been most satisfying up to the present, agreeing to hold tight to that, and allowing the separation of things that no longer remain satisfying.