It Hurts Because It's Good

Another really, really hard goodbye today.  

I am on emotional overload.

I think I need to intake more fluids because of all the tears and the snot.  Seriously.

A few weeks ago, Susan - a friend of a friend in Indonesia - posted a link to a blog post written about the pain of having to say goodbye over and over again.  (The blog post can be found here, by the way: http://www.thecultureblend.com/?p=1482 - I'm not sure how to add hyperlinks yet.)

The author gives some advice about how to make goodbyes less painful:  Stop engaging.  Stop investing in heartfelt and meaningful friendships.  Stop loving others deeply.  Stop being transparent.  Stop pouring into others.

Disengaging is the key to making goodbyes easier.

The catch, however, is this:

It hurts because it is good.

These people.  Their kids.  These friendships.  These shared experiences and memories.  It is sick-to-my-stomach-hard to hug that last time and say goodbye and turn around.  Because it's all so very, very good.