Godspeed, friend

It's over. And I'm ok.

Today I had the privilege of seeing my newly-retired friend off at the airport, as he travels to other parts of the world. I hadn't planned to go to the airport; the opportunity just sort of came up. I excitedly emailed the organizer that I would be there to send our friend off in style.

After which, I thought to myself, "Well geez, what if you can't hold it together? How's that going to make him (the friend who is leaving) feel? You need to get it together fast, girlfriend."

So, I went home yesterday, had a light dinner, and went to bed early in hopes of a calm, peaceful tomorrow.

And today did start out better. I woke up in a better place. I went to work early and got some work done. I drank some coffee. I made some signs to hold up when my friend arrived at the airport.

Then I left for the airport, monitoring myself for any signs of weepiness or "freaking-outedness." Nope, nothing yet. Calm, cool and collected, as I'd hoped.

I arrived at the airport terminal and ran into five other friends who were there for the same reason. We were all in good spirits, as far as I could tell. But they were probably feeling the same way I was and were all probably struggling to keep their own emotions in check.

My traveling friend was late. Ok, maybe not late. Maybe just not as early as we, the anally-retentive ones, would have liked. But he got there in time.

Someone said, "Here he comes," and I had to run another emotional checklist on myself.

Uh-oh... there it was. Just on the edge of my feelings. A possible tear.  Oh no! Breathe. Hold it back. I quickly regrouped. Breathe again. Sigh. Whew! There, good as new.

We held up our signs, he smiled, and hugged each of us in turn. I feared I would break out in sobs when he came to me. But it didn't happen. I simply smiled and hugged him back. He thanked us all for being there to see him off.

Our time together was brief, just a few moments long, then he was on his way. And that was that. He went to the security checkpoint and we went out the door. (Ok, I went out the wrong door... but that has more to do with my cluelessness than my emotions.) I got into my car and returned to work.

The emotions are still in check. Sometimes all you need is a good night's sleep for some fresh perspective.

Oh, I'm certain I will cry again in the future when I am really missing him. But for today, I am managing to hold it in and put on a happy face. And tomorrow is a new day. And I will be ok.