A Five-Year Old Farewell

 

Lia met her best buddy, Kaylee, when she was only a few weeks old and, believe it or not, these girls have been inseparable ever since.  The first year or two, they simply played by each other's sides--kind of oblivious of one another's presence.  Then they entered the toddler stage and fought a lot over toys while they attempted to play together.  But then something magical happened about age three or four as they began playing beautifully with each other.  They became best of friends and could not get enough of one another.  In fact, they would often times embrace and kiss each other when saying hello or goodbye.  It was the cutest thing.  Kaylee's mom, Megan, and I had grand plans for these two.  They were supposed to grow up together, enjoying the elementary school years, enduring the junior high school years, and loving the high school years together...and then they were going to go off to BYU and room together.  Oh, it was just perfect until something happened a few weeks ago.  Kaylee's dad got a wonderful job opportunity up north and before we knew it, they were packing up their house and leaving us.  It's been a sad few weeks for Lia as she has adjusted to the fact that her best friend is leaving her.  It makes me cry just writing about it.  So this past Saturday night, we threw a farewell party for Kaylee's family and invited all of our friends over for a BBQ to send our dear friends off with some love.  Lia spent the entire evening at Kaylee's side--eating dinner, playing on the swing set, riding their bikes on the sport's court, etc.  They are just the cutest pair.  And this is the picture that Megan snapped of the two as they were leaving at the end of the evening.  So, thank you, Kaylee, for all of the wonderful memories and for being Lia's first, official best friend.  You will always hold a special place in her heart.  Here's to hoping that we can keep this friendship alive in the years to come!