Goodbyes aren’t ever fun, unless you really dislike the person you’re saying goodbye to, I suppose. And graduation is just a ton of goodbyes in a very concentrated amount of time.
I know I’m supposed to be all excited that I’m done with high school and basically “free” now (which is such a lie, by the way), but to say that I’m even anywhere near excited would be a massive overstatement. I guess I’m still in the stage where you miss everyone a ton and put off looking through your yearbook ‘cause it’s too painful and lay in bed all day staring at the ceiling while stuffing yourself with the six chocolate bars and entire bag of marshmallows you smuggled home from your senior class trip.
So yeah, I guess you could say that goodbyes make me a little sad. But in the midst of all the hugs and yearbook signings and desperate efforts not to cry, God sent me a tiny ray of sunshine.
As one of my classmates was getting ready to leave with her family, I noticed a small, blond-headed boy standing next to her. He couldn't have been more than six. I’d never met him before, so I started to ask what his name was.
“So what’s your brother’s na—”
“I’m Liam.”
I looked down at Liam and found that he apparently wasn’t afraid of eye contact, as his blue eyes boldly stared back at me. I’ve worked with a lot of kids Liam’s age, and most of them are hiding behind their mom’s legs as soon as you even acknowledge their existence, so it was a bit of a surprise to me to be having a conversation with Liam that didn’t end with him bursting into tears and running back to clutch his mom’s pant leg.
Before I could say another word, Liam held out his arms and said, “Free hugs!”, which I immediately understood to be more a command than an offer. He threw his arms around me as I tried to get over the shock of meeting a kid who apparently didn’t have an ounce of shyness in him.
After Liam and his family left, I was still pretty sad. At the end of the day, I still got in my dad’s car and sobbed uncontrollably for a good chunk of the way home while my poor dad probably wondered what to say. And yeah, I’m still in the midst of those “lay-in-bed-and-stuff-yourself-with-chocolate” days (don’t worry, I’m not being too unhealthy).
But when it comes down to it, I still have an amazing college experience to look forward to. I still know things will get brighter. And I’m really grateful to God for using the little things (or people) like Liam to remind me of that.
So (if you’re ever in need),
Free hugs!