Her dear friend is leaving the country for the summer...off to visit her homeland of Germany with her parents. Eight weeks of travel and adventure while Michaela is left to scooter past her empty house.
Goodbyes are hard, even harder for a 6 year old. And eight weeks of separation is forever.
I tried to keep from smoothing over the pain of it, telling her that the time will speed faster than she will remember. Because honestly, I feel like it's somewhat of an invalidation to gloss over the immediate sadness by placating her with promises that "it's only eight weeks and it will go by fast."
The truth is, that when you are in the middle of an emotional moment, it is hard to imagine feeling any other way. I would rather let her know the sadness, and then the elation of reuniting, because each have their beauty. I want her to identify and articulate both.
There is also something to learn from saying goodbye...that you will be okay...eventually.
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