We came back from Stormy for a few days and of course, sandwiched right in there was another goodbye. I had been dreading this day since last fall when I found out it was inevitable. But I definitely put off thinking about it as long as I could. Dixie and I went for a run together every morning that week before they left and our last run was tough....I just didn't want it to end.
On the day the movers were packing up their house, Titus came over to our house for most of the afternoon and evening. And although we don't usually allow the Wii in the summer, this seemed like a fitting occasion for two boys who love to play it together.
I love this picture of these two...but you can tell Titus was already feeling a bit down. He had spent the night before at another friend's house and walked into his house in the midst of boxes and movers and packing everything and he did not deal with it very well. In fact, when Dixie brought him up to our house after only about 15 min at home, he didn't even want to get out of the car because he was still in tears. So several hours spent together--just these two--was exactly what they both needed.
This one kills me too......it just brings back so many memories. These boys met each other even before Dixie and I met one another. Wyatt and Titus were in the same group at BSF when they were preschoolers, right after we moved here. But since Dixie and I weren't in the same group, we never met one another. So when Wyatt went to Kindergarten the following fall and came off the bus yelling, "Mom, my friend from BSF is in my class!" I knew I had to meet this kid's mom. And thus the friendship began. And these two boys have been together ever since....same Kindergarten class, same 1st grade class AND same 2nd grade class (which is pretty amazing when you consider that there are 7 classes within each grade!)
And Wyatt and Titus have a unique friendship because they aren't very much alike in terms of their interests (Wyatt loves sports and Titus does not--Titus loves legos and Wyatt doesn't care much for them--but somehow they always have so much fun together). They were the kind of friends that didn't have to be together all the time and often would play with different kids at school, but they both knew that they were each other's buddies and they could count on one another (like when they shared the gospel with kids in their class--Titus immediately came to Wyatt's defense when one of the kids was questioning what Wyatt was saying).
And of course Sadie had Titus' older sisters to look up
Jake (a neighborhood friend and classmate), Titus and Wyatt
For the next 5 days after the Scribners moved, Wyatt cried himself to sleep every night. When I would ask him what was up (even though I obviously knew), he didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted me to sit with him while he cried. And for a kid that keeps his emotions under lock and key, this was a lot of emotions to deal with. Not only was it a lot of emotions to deal with but they were also new emotions. It was the first time in his life that he's had a really good friend and then on top of that, to have to deal with that friend moving away. As a parent you know it will be okay and they'll make new friends, but Wyatt is much like Matt--he'll probably always have just a handful of close friends and that's it. So when you have ONE and he leaves, it's really tough.
I have reminded Wyatt, as we have gone through all these goodbyes, that they are hard for me as well. My friend moved away too and I don't know who my new friends will be or if I'll have any or who I'll run with--Dixie was my go-to friend whenever I needed anything. She has a servant's heart and would drop anything for her friends, yet she also spoke truth into my life and was such an encourager. Some mornings on our runs we would just pray--for our husbands, our kids, their friends, schools, teachers, etc. She was watching my kids when I found out I had a miscarriage and was here when I came home to give me a hug and remind me that the Lord was in control. She was here when I was crabby and needed to go for a run to clear my mind. She was here when we just wanted to take the kids to the pool and hang out and chat. She was here to remind me of the light we are called to be in Woodbury to so many hurting people around us (who like to appear that they've got it all together but are just dying inside). She saw me at my best and my worst and loved me the same no matter what....and those kinds of friends don't come along often. This family leaving has left a huge hole on Walnut Lane in Woodbury and an ache in my heart....but I am thankful that we serve the same God and rejoice in knowing that we will spend eternity together!
Miss you Dixie.
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