Beware the red-haired man and corny jokes...

For the first time in my life I will not mark the beginning of a new school year as a student. However, the last few days have had me thinking back to my junior year of high school. I remember Ms. Simmons gave us a writing assignment the first day of school. We had to write a poem about our summer.

The only thing I remember about the poem I wrote is the title and one line. The title of that poem was "Saying Goodbye, Before Saying Hello." The poem was about saying goodbye to the several new friends I made that summer before starting school and saying hello to old friends I had not seen over the break. Saying goodbye was the hard part because I knew that I would probably never see those people again.

So why, eight years later, am I thinking so much about a poem I wrote in high school? The answer is simple. The word "Goodbye" is trying to sneak back into my life. Some very dear friends of mine are moving away soon. In fact, Paul, Wendy and their kids are already gone; and in just a few short days Robbie and Denisa will be gone as well.

Paul and Wendy are on their way to Washington state and I will miss them dearly. They are essentially part of our family, and have been a huge influence in my life over the years. Robbie and Denisa are headed the other direction and moving to Rhode Island. I love them both and they have become an integral part of my circle of people.

Although I know that I will definitely see these people again, it feels like they are moving to another planet. I guess in a way they are. Yes, they'll still be in the same country, but the East and West Coasts are very different places and they definitely aren't Oklahoma. Both places are vastly different from here. They won't be in the "Bible Belt" anymore. I know that God has great plans for them or He wouldn't be sending them so far away from everyone and everything they know. I am proud to know that we as a church family are sending them out to do God's will. As for saying goodbye, I refuse. I know I'll see them again, so while a bit cliche', I'm only going to say I'll see you soon.

Before Robbie and Denisa leave there are still some fun times to be had. And boy did we have one great evening of fun the other night. A large group of us gathered together for a "Farewell Soon" party. Thus began an evening of corny jokes and a scary red-haired man. Robbie is in the Christian band "Farewell June" so there you go, the first dose of corny. There was much more corny cleverness throughout the evening as we split up into guys vs. girls in a rousing game of Family Feud. While we had immeasurable amounts of fun we were all a little bit on edge after the sheriff stopped by to warn us about a man they were looking for in the area. We were instructed that if we saw a red-haired man we were not to interact with him and to go inside, lock the door and call the sheriff's office.

I don't know if they caught the guy, so beware of the red-haired man and extremely corny jokes.

I know Paul is in the Air Force National Guard, but my family served in the Navy. So, farewell my friends and may you have Fair Winds and Following Seas.

Rikilynn