When Your Best Friend Moves Away

Growing up it’s never easy when your best friend moves away. For some reason, I always assumed that it wouldn’t be a problem when you grew up. I remember when our neighbors moved aways as kids. My brothers & I were best friends with their kids & we were crushed. My mom seemed really upset too & I remember thinking: why is she so upset, it’s not like they play together in the street everyday like we do. But I’ve found, it actually gets harder. As you get older, you find a best friend who you rely on for so much more. As a mom, you find best friends who you not only want to hang out with, but more importantly someone you trust with your children. You really end up searching for a best friend, who you want to hang out with, you trust with your children, your kids get along & if you’re really lucky your husbands become friends too. I was blessed to check all of those things off the list when I became friends with Julie. 

People often ask “how did you do it with 2 kids 18 months apart”. I always answer “It’s a blur, but we have a lot of family in the area to help out”. The other reason I survived was because I met Julie when Alex was a week old. It was one of the 1st times I ventured out of the house with the 2 girls. I didn’t know anyone in town yet (we moved in to town the week before my due date). Maggie started playing with an adorable little boy & I noticed his mom had a baby in her arms too. We started talking, but after a few minutes the babies were crying & the toddlers were running off. She gave me her email address & said to email her so she could share some fun local places for kids & a moms group. By the end of that month, we saw Julie & the boys almost every day. When you have an 18 month old & an infant who wants to nurse every 5 minutes, it’s not easy to venture far. Being just 2 blocks from each other, it was a manageable distance for play dates. When the winter rolled around we stayed sane by having picnics indoors & feeding the kids dinner together. Rainy days were always spent in Julie’s basement & it was one of those rainy days when we came up with the idea for The Chirping Moms. While most of our play dates have been within walking distance of our houses, we’ve also loaded all of the kids into Julie’s minivan for adventures to the beach, New York City & just about every park we could find.

But it hasn’t been all fun & games. Finding a best friend means having someone there in the not so great times too. When my husband was stuck in California on business because of a snow storm & me & the girls had an awful stomach bug: it was Julie who battled the storm to deliver us Gatorade. Last month when Maggie fell at the park & was unconscious, it was Julie who called 911 because I was too panicked to do anything. 

My family & I have been so blessed to have this wonderful family down the street. Our kids always have a blast & our husbands have become great friends too. I knew for a while there was a possibility they would move, but I decided not to worry & get upset until I knew for sure. The day Julie told me her husband got the new job & they would be definitely be heading to DC, I wanted to cry. I held it back, because I thought I might make her cry too & there’s nothing worse then making a pregnant lady cry. I told her congratulations & headed out to get supplies for Maggie’s birthday party. I rarely cry & don’t think I’ve ever cried in a store before, but as I was browsing the party store, I saw something that I knew all of our kids would all have fun doing together. I thought about getting it & saving it for the summer & then it hit me: they wouldn’t be our neighbors this summer. I started crying in the middle of the Party City. 

A funny side note: (since I just can’t write a totally sad post): I cried in Party City minutes after an employee informed me they didn’t have any Lion King party supplies. He showed me where they had a few “animal print” items. I was standing in that very aisle crying & he walked by. He gave me a look like “chill lady, it’s just a Lion King party”. He definitely went back to the break room & told everyone there was a lady in aisle 4 crying over Simba party supplies. 

I’ve been so blessed to have Julie as my neighbor & I know we’ll stay good friends. I think what makes me really sad is that although her & I will chat & email daily, we won’t get to watch the kids play together. That has been one of my favorite parts about our friendship. My girls love Aiden & Andrew & it’s so much fun to watch them all play. It’s been even more fun with sweet little Abby in the mix. We’re already planning some exciting summer activities too meet up & get the kids together. Plus, we have our blog, where we can continue to share our journey as moms.

Tonight, when Julie handed me back her set of my house keys, I took them with a heavy heart. We’re so excited for the adventures that await them in DC & we can’t wait to visit, but we’ll sure miss them on our street.