A Void

Did I tell you my best friend/teacher across the hall moved last week? Not only did she move, but she moved 8 hours and 16 minutes away. That's 522.98 miles.

Approximately.

I lived in denial for months. Since July, to be exact. I knew she was moving. We talked about it all. I saw pictures of the new house. I helped her move things out of the old house. And yet when that day came? Her very last day to be the teacher across the hall?

Reality finally set in.

We cried. We hugged. And as she left...as she walked out of that school that we had been teaching in together for more than 11 years...I sat at my desk and cried some more.

It has been a week since she hasn't been across the hall. And it just hasn't been the same. We had a staff meeting this week and I didn't know where to sit. How was I supposed to sit through a staff meeting without being able to talk to her? Or slip her notes? Or roll my eyes about the guest speakers?

And she wasn't just the teacher across the hall. Throughout the course of those 11 years, I got married. We both had kids. We both started blogs. We shared books and recipes. We started hanging out after school. We got our kids together for playdates. We had mommy days shopping and lunching.

We were the best of friends.

We still are.

522.98 miles can't stop that.

And while I am glad her family is settled and together in their new beautiful home, starting the newest chapter in their lives...

I miss her. A lot.

*sniff*