Endings

**Originally posted on June 1, 2015**

Endings. We deal with them all the time. Some are welcome and others break our hearts.

We've all had that breakup. You know the one. Do you remember the utter, giddy relief when that relationship ended? When you began to wonder what you had ever seen in him\her, and now you're just happy that it's over? Those are good endings. I've been know to throw a party over endings like that.

But then there are endings you didn't expect. The person you have been friends with for years drifts away. There was no fight, no warning. Maybe he\she began canceling plans and not returning phone calls. Texts went unanswered. And one day, you realized you had lost a friend. It's happened to me. And it hurts. Sometimes that person still pops into your mind, and you wonder what they're up to these days. But you never try to contact them because . . . what's the point now?

Or maybe you're swept up into a new, whirlwind friendship. You meet, you click, you begin doing stuff together. You get used to having a new friend. And just as suddenly--you don't. What's up with that?

Death is an ending I hate. When a loved one leaves this earth, they take a piece of your heart with them. Nothing is ever the same. There is always an ache in your soul that never goes away. It's kind of the same thing when you suddenly find out the person you're in a committed relationship with wants out. That, too, is a small death of sorts. Your heart breaks, you wander around lost for a while, before you begin to heal.

And healing is the key. We do heal, we move on. It may take a while--it could take years--but we do heal. I am a firm believer that people come into our lives for a reason, and are there for that purpose. Then they fade away. Maybe that whirlwind friend came into your life to help you realize your ability to do something. Maybe that old boyfriend walked away because it was time for you to meet your husband. Maybe you had to live through your father's death to realize how strong you are.

Endings hurt. But they can also be the beginning of something wonderful, something you may have missed otherwise. I'm learning to embrace endings with hope, because I don't want to miss out on anything life offers me now.