Goodbye, Friend

Hadley's first (and right now only) girlfriend is moving away. While Hadley doesn't understand that she won't get to see her buddy "Emson" anymore, she is still in her daily thoughts. Whenever we talk about the zoo, Hadley will talk about Emerson. Or if I take out goldfish crackers, or Hadley sees Abby on Sesame Street, Emerson's name comes up. Emerson has an Abby doll, and apparently likes goldfish crackers, though I hadn't noticed.

On our last visit together, we met at the zoo. Emerson is turning two in a few days so Hadley gave her some sidewalk chalk and an Elmo Sticker book. She also said, "Happy Birthday, Emson!" They spent the morning together holding hands, running around in their matching backpack "leashes" and looking at the animals.

Here they are looking at the turtles swimming in the water:

Up close with the gorillas. Or maybe they're chimpanzees. Is it surprising that I'm not sure? Hadley was quite concerned that this guy (you can see him in the second picture) was a little too close. Right after I took these pictures, she began telling the group of people who were admiring the chimp that he's "too big." This is her phrase for something that she doesn't like or is uncomfortable with.

I think running around the zoo was their favorite activity. (Don't worry, the cars in the picture were the staff's cars. We weren't letting them run around Connecticut Avenue.)

It is hard to say goodbye to people you've grown close to, and I'm sure this won't be the last person Hadley will bid adieu to. Maybe she'll have a friend on her high school dance team that will tell her the most animated stories and make practicing a routine over and over again not so monotonous. Or maybe she'll have the chance to have a best friend for several years who will know by the way she walks what kind of mood she's in. I hope she'll have college buddies who she laughs hard with and help her grow into a thoughtful young lady. And I hope she finds a friend or two in her job that she can spend hours "talking shop" with in a coffeeshop. Well, maybe it'll be a bar, but then she shouldn't be there for hours.

Whoever she meets down the road, Emerson will be her first girlfriend, and that is a special memory for me to help keep for Hadley. We will miss her and her mom.