The Second Good-bye

You say good bye, jump in your car, and drive off to college for the first time. You glance in your rear view mirror -- your childhood friends followed you outside of the house and are now waving good-bye from the driveway.

You pass through security for what feels like the millionth time, glance down at your boarding ticket and up at the gate number signs, and gather your belongings. You do a quick shoulder check -- Mom and Dad are still standing there... waving good-bye.

You give 'em a quick hug and a kiss, ask them again if they have their IDs, and tell them to call you when the land. You wait as your sisters walk through security; you intend to wait until they walk around the corner and out of sight. As they walk away, without warning, they turn around. They wave good-bye.

He kisses you and hugs you in the car as you pull up to the curb. You ask him to pop the trunk so you can grab your luggage. He does so, then steps out of the driver seat and walks around back to take your luggage out for you. He hands you your suitcase and hugs you again, longer this time.

= = =

There's something about those second good-byes that grip at my heart harder than the firsts. It's like the first good-bye is for acknowledging that you or they are leaving... the second one is for saying "I love you", "please take care", and "I'll miss you" all at once.