See You Soon

Joshua,
KCU Women's soccer coach when Ruth started at KCU in 2011,
the reason I became team mom,
because a young, single guy with no assistant coach 
traveling with a team full of young women definitely needs a chaperone
is moving on from KCU.
Today was his last day.

This would be much easier 
if I had stayed simply a chaperone 
rather than opening my heart
and learning to love him and the teams we've had the last five years,
if it wasn't Friday the 29th I had to say goodbye to Bill on a Friday 29.

He brought me his guppies last night, they wouldn't survive the move.
We had time to chat, 
something that we have not been able to do recently.

At noon today he was picking up a U Haul
then stopping at my house to pick up pallets Jonathan got for him,
and being the mature woman I am, I made a decision: 
I would not take part of anything to do with public goodbyes.
We talked about it when he was at the house, he supported that choice.

So, before the farewell gathering at KCU this afternoon,
before they loaded the truck this evening, 
before he pulls away in the morning,
I ran away from home. 
I didn't want to watch another loved one leave me,
and while I have put a dent in my Kleenex stash today,
I am very thankful to be saying see you soon (or even later) and not goodbye.