Goodbyes

Well this past week has been a time of saying goodbye. With the passing of our friend's mother, we had a funeral to attend this week. It wasn't as somber as some funerals, since her mother was 92, and had been dealing with declining health for the last few years. In fact, the viewing was very laid back, and people were smiling, since we felt confident in her eternal home. The viewing was so "casual" that our friend suggested we bring our children over to the funeral home to view death from a non-traumatic standpoint. My husband and I talked it over, and decided to give it a try. Our three year old, was curious, and mostly unfazed. Our six year took it all in silently, and seemed relieved when we left. I don't think we made a bad choice. The funeral I attended by myself. I figured that was a little TOO much reality at this point.
Yesterday, we said our goodbyes to our Pastor and his family. They are moving to a new church in Michigan. We had them over for a farewell dinner. Initially, we thought they were going to be around church on and off for most of the month of June, but they announced last night that they had worked out some details, so now they would be leaving permanently on June 6th. I will miss having a Pastor that I like well enough to invite over for dinner.
This week is a new week, and one that I am hoping will not have any goodbyes in it, at least not ones that are more permanent than having a few days pass between seeing friends or family members. I just don't like saying goodbye.