Oh yes, there was one more affirmation that I've armed myself with all these years: 'Don't mind people leaving, because you do the same.' No one is exempted from this. I have stepped away from the lives of many people -- even people I have claimed to love. And many have stepped away from mine -- even people who have claimed to love me. Although there is hurting, there are no judgments. People walk away, because that is what people do.
The quiet, searing hurt is eventually tucked into some deep pocket of memory, like an old, soft handkerchief never to be thrown away. Yes, even after every particle of pain has all but faded from it. Time will come when the reason for leaving will not matter, just that they left. 'That is what people do,' you learn to tell yourself -- just as you learn how to do it too.
