Goodbye Hurts. So Let’s Keep Walking.

Saying Hello to New Beginnings, New Space and New Me

After surviving a major life change, I found myself buying a few things for the unit.

I improved my lounge and work space, and gradually turned what was just a place to live into a home that reflects my personality. After years of fairly neutral surroundings, I found myself drawn to brighter colours, varying textures and comfortable lounging. Much of it arrived in bland cardboard boxes; what emerged now has me living in an uplifting home of my own, and every time I walk through the front door, it feels like me.

The lesson, though, wasn’t that buying things makes us happy.

The furniture didn’t fix the sadness I carry inside, but they do give me a place where I could heal. Long-term happiness won’t come from what I own: It will come from the life I now keep within these four walls, and from the life outside that continue to give that meaning.

These days, when I say “See you later” to my sons after a long day together, I’m beginning to hear something different. I’m focusing on making a promise rather than giving a farewell.

So it becomes a reminder that this isn’t the end of my story, only a different way of living and loving it. My boys and I are still walking together, even if we’re sometimes on different parts of the track.

Perhaps that’s the lesson my ten-year-old self couldn’t yet understand. Goodbyes will always hurt because they remind us that someone matters. But they don’t have to be the final word.

Now that I am willing to keep saying hello to the next chapter, and want to keep walking alongside the people I love (in whatever way life allows) — then goodbye becomes the next step along the journey, not the end of the road.

Wo, this was a heavy and eye-opening post for me. Yet I am so glad I wrote it down.