saying goodbye

Once upon a time, Matt and I did not have children.  He was an accountant, and I was a teacher.  We lived in a cute one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a law firm.  One day, we heard through the grapevine that we had new neighbors who were about our age and who went to our church.  Back then, Matt was a little bit shy.  (He has since grown out of that).  So when I suggested we go and meet our new neighbors, he hesitated a little.  We brought over some brownies and introduced ourselves to Heather and Dave.  And our lives were never the same.  

Eight years went by.  That is the equivalent of high school and college put together.  In those early years, pre-kids, we enjoyed many late game nights and conversations sometimes into the early morning hours.  We had so. much. fun.  Slowly, our numbers grew.  I had Emmy and Heather visited me every day for two weeks, admiring my sweet little redhead almost as much as me.  A year and a half later, Heather and Dave had Abby.  I will never forget the joy I felt when they cleverly announced they were pregnant.  What a thrill! I'll also never forget Heather and I urgently going to Target to buy her a Christmas tree.  We thought she might go into labor at any second.  Anyway, time really flew by after that - more kids, more good times, and always this feeling that we needed to savor the time we had . . . because Palo Alto might not be permanent.  

And so, this March, Heather and Dave and their three cute kiddos moved to Denver.  We miss them!  The only happy ending to this story, is that I know we will always be friends.  Still . . . I can't help but be a bit sad and sentimental about the end of a big chapter in our lives.  

The night of their departure - I think we're all laughing here to keep from crying

How did we come to have all of these children?

Heather and Dave are only minutes away from getting to see Matt cry