Goodbyes are Tough

Over the past month and particularly over the past week, we have had to say goodbye to a lot of really great friends.  All of these friends moved here two years ago just like we did, but their husbands' programs are over and they are moving on (two years is a really common amount of time for graduate students to be here...we're kind of the odd ones in that we will quite possibly be here an entire decade!).

This has been one of the neatest and most fun communities to live in.  Many of us would have never crossed paths had we not been placed together in University of Chicago graduate student housing....we're all from different parts of the country (some of us even from different countries) and many of us come from different religious backgrounds.  The things that brought us together were our ties to the University of Chicago and our roles as wives and mothers.

Living together in this building has felt almost like living in the dorm again, except everybody is married and has kids. There were lots of spontaneous play dates, random knocks on the door from friends delivering yummy treats or just saying hey, lots of fun times in the Tot Lot during the cold winters, many afternoon "Happy Hours" at the park (the time between 4:00 and 5:00 every afternoon when all the kids were up from their naps and we needed to pass that last hour before dinner without losing our sanity...no alcohol involved, just some much-needed adult conversation), girls nights without the kids, date night swaps (free babysitting!), etc., etc.

In all of these goodbyes, a lot of tears have been shed. We have watched each others' kids go from babies to full-fledged toddlers and we have shared many wonderful memories together. Jesse talks about his friends all the time, and it makes me so sad to think that it is only a matter of time before he doesn't even remember this part of our lives. He knew where all his friends lived in the building and lived for getting to go visit them.

I just wanted to record this phase of our lives with some pictures of Jesse and his buddies and a few rare pictures of the Moms.

This is Jesse with Sid and Holman sometime back in May.  Jesse and Sid decided to become "best buddies" just months before they moved away. The Subway lunch was Jesse's "suggestion" one day on the playground, so we jumped on it!

Many, but not all of the ladies in our building at our holiday party this past December.

Maggie, Andrea and myself at a "Sip and See" we threw for Andrea right after Charlotte was born (our first spring here, more than a year ago).

Jesse and Lilah hanging out in thier pjs and rain boots.

Lilah attacking Jesse with leaves at Promontory Point this past fall. Jesse didn't seem to mind too much ;)

In our final days together, Maggie, Andrea and I had an indoor picnic (it was rainy outside) with our kids.

Celebrating Donut Day with Sid and Holman before we took off for the Children's Museum together.

Jesse and Kayla hanging out and coloring together the week before they moved.

Jesse and Alyse saying a final goodbye to each other.

Jesse saying his final goodbyes to Lilah and Charlotte.