Leaving can be tough, I don’t mean the physical act of moving but the emotional and psychological reck that can be caused. You would think moving once or twice a year, that you would be getting used to it. Not me, well not the young me anyways. My parents got divorced when I was two years old.

My mother moved across the country and I was forced to fly between them for visitations, my mother had technical custody. She couldn’t keep a house or a job for long so we moved a lot. I would be the shy new kid over and over… and over again. I have met a lot of great and interesting kids who I regret not being able to see grow into amazing adults.

One of the hardest goodbyes I have had to say was during high school. I met another quiet young adult who lived down the county road from me. At first I didn’t like the looks of him to much - seemed stuck up. After awhile we started to talk and we had so much in common. Next thing you know a year has passed and I have spent a substantial large amount of time at his house and with his family.

It was like a second home for me. A total of three years of almost everyday being with him. I loved him, not in a gay way but in the he’s more of a brother then my actually brother way. The best friend who always had my back even during the rare occurrence we actually fought. His family felt like my family.

Then.. of course the inevitable happened. My real family moved again, I was almost out of high school but I did not make enough as a fast food cook to afford to stay. His family did not have the room or money to help support me so I had to go. I was very angry and sad to leave and thought I would never find a friend or family like that again.

It has been 12 years and we kept in touch but we drifted. I still think about him and my second family. I still wonder what he is up to and how is mom and sister are. However, I did manage to find someone to fill the role of best friend in my life.

My new best friend is my wife. Our meeting is for another story but it was pretty amazing. Spoiler, we got married after knowing each other for 3 month and now are married happily for 7 years with three amazing kids.

Leaving can be tough but it paves the way for new people, new places, and new adventures. If you can’t change your circumstances, change your view of it and you might find it leads to something better.