It's Goodbye for a Little While

13 years ago on the first day of school, I pulled into the preschool parking lot ahead of schedule. The kids and I had left home with plenty of time to make the drive (early is on time and on time is late - that's how I roll), and because we didn't hit any traffic, ours and one other car were the first two in the parking lot. We were two of the first cars in the parking lot almost every day for the rest of that school year, so on occasion, Will, Hallie, and I crossed paths with this gold van's mom and two daughters. Our kids weren't in the same classrooms though, so we didn't really talk other than an occasional hello (or head nod and smile to acknowledge how cool we both were for always being so early to preschool 😂). 

The following year, we all officially met when the "littles" ended up in the same preschool class and the "bigs" started kindergarten at the same elementary school. And the rest - as they say - is history. 

For 12 years, Hallie and Kara - along with Avery, the third member of that preschool trio of best friends - have been as thick as thieves. They have giggled and laughed and disagreed and fought and made up and cried with one another. They have cheered for and supported one another. They have listened to, navigated discomfort with, and suffered in quiet pain with one another. They have learned how to give grace and forgive because of one another. Each are in so many ways who they are today because of this friendship.

And last Saturday, almost 12 years to the day after that official meeting and three years "ahead of schedule," they said goodbye for a little while.

~

A few weeks ago, Kara auditioned for and was accepted into Houston Ballet's year-round training program. This is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment and opportunity for Kara, and we are tremendously proud of her. Becoming a professional dancer is her dream, and she's making it happen. 

But this isn't easy...for the girls who have been each others' rocks for more than a decade, or for their mamas, who love all of them with their whole hearts.

Thankfully, Kara will only be 90 minutes away. We will take Hallie and Avery - and their now fourth, Abby - to visit Kara in Houston, and Kara will come home for program breaks (though not for Thanksgiving or Christmas, because of Houston Ballet's Nutcracker schedule) and hopefully to watch her sister and friends in Ballet Brazos' Nutcracker. We will make it work. 

I was already teetering on the edge of emotional stability (Will started his senior year of high school last week), and Kara leaving isn't helping. But as I sit with these big feelings, I continuously remind myself and Hallie: how wonderful to have had someone in your life so impactful that saying goodbye is so hard.