i have never been fond of saying goodbye.

especially to those that i am so fond of, integral kinship in my life that make it feel so whole. 

the type of goodbye that is indefinite because you just don’t know when you will see one another again.  yes, that is the extremely hard one.  indeed, i am ridiculously sentimental and sometimes dramatic in farewells.  but it is meant to be a sign of affection, an emotional compliment, to the impact that the relationship has had, and will continue to have, even after the person has moved on.

it is today when the viking is leaving my australian tale to make her own way home.  it is a temporary good-bye as i know her friendship is something i will grow old with but it is her daily comfort that will be missed.  and her ability to lose herself in discussion with absolutely no care to what time it is, something shifted in me when i met her.  it was the first time i felt ‘real’ since moving from a place full of wonderful people who naturally understood me. 

meeting people in your adult life can be difficult – there is a history of childhood and adolescence that is unknown to a stranger.  but none of that really matters because it is who you are at present time that ignites a new friendship, attracts curiosity to want to get to know one another better.  and in organic fashion, without even realizing it, that once upon a time stranger grows into an intimate confident, an impressionable, genuine friend.

at least that is what i have learned in befriending a viking – a friendship without no end.  so i guess it isn’t a goodbye – just a ‘good luck’ and “see you again, someday very soon”.