Paths Diverge

Let us tell you a short story about a seemingly trivial moment during Herself's trip to the Phoenix International Raceway:

After the end of the big race, Herself, Beloved Husband, and Cherished Friend left the track together, along with the bazillion or so other spectators. Cherished Friend, long-legged and purposeful, made his way easily through the sea of people.  Herself and Beloved Husband kept up as best they could.  As they moved along, peering through the crowd to try to spot his retreating form, it became clear that they could not keep up with him. He did not look back.  Eventually they lost sight of him. Herself and Beloved Husband chose the route they thought best, paused to return their rental headsets, and made their way back to camp in due course.  They reconvened later.

At the time, Herself was bothered more than perhaps she would otherwise have been, for she saw in this minuscule happenstance, the shadow of things to come. 

So metaphorical: though she and Beloved Husband would walk with Cherished Friend if they could, but they were not able to do so, and took their own route.  

Soon, Cherished Friend will be leaving this desert land and moving to a different patch of the southwest. It is not far in the grand scheme of things -- 300-odd miles away. And it is a solid, good career path for him.  Herself is happy for him; work is important, and the right work is a good thing, indeed. 

All the same, she is sad for Herself, and Beloved Husband, and Offspring the Third, who admires Cherished Friend immensely. Over the past several years, Cherished Friend has become a de facto member of our family, and we are all the better for it. To know that he will no longer be a fixture in our weekly lives is nearly unthinkable -- and yet it shall become the new reality.  

We wonder how we will bridge the distance so that Cherished Friend will nevertheless continue to be part of our lives (albeit on a less frequent basis).  It can be done, but in what form, we do not yet know.  There will be time to mourn the loss of his presence later; right now, we must determine how best to make his first steps on his new path as smooth as possible. 

Change is hard. Yet thus is life - sometimes paths diverge, and we all must make our own way.

Picture copyright 2014, Mediocria Firma. Used with gratitude.