A New Chapter

Today I said goodbye to one of my very dearest friends. For the past eight years Val has been the person that I turned to. To talk, to advise, and to confess. The funny thing is, we only had a few things in common. She comes from a large Mormon family in Utah and I come a small Christian family from Texas. She likes to run, lift weights, and exercise. I go out of my way to avoid such activities. I like to read, garden, cook, and play around on my computer. She goes out of her way to avoid such activities. Nonetheless, not long after we met we became close. She would share with me the most intimate details of her life, and I would do the same. We were polar opposites – but we balanced each other.

She became the person I would turn to when I was most desperate. And I became the person she called when she was falling apart. And we grew. And we made each other strong.

Now she’s gone. Although I know it is for the best and that the distance will not change our bond, I feel sad. Scared, really. What will I do without her? How will she do with out me?

She’s moving back to Utah to marry a Mormon man she met in May. I tell her she’s being called home to the mother ship. She laughs and ignores me.

I’m happy for her, and sad for me. But maybe, really this is just what we needed to do.