Hugging a Parade
A mom-friend of mine whose husband is a pastor at a local church recently described ministry in DC as “like trying to hug a parade.” She was referencing the transience for which this city is renown. The reason behind the revolving door is manifold: student interns who visit for three to six months, congressional representatives (and their staffs) whose time in office is brief, presidential administrations and their political appointees who rotate positions, college students who attend one of our many universities, government employees who rotate between domestic and international assignments, and so on.
We recognize that this characterization of the District primarily describes our demographic- educated, white collar people who did not grow up in the region- but the fact remains that this trend shapes and affects relationships of everyone who lives here- from the third-generation-native-Washingtonian to the just-arrived-yesterday-college-intern.
Our DC friends & acquaintances who have moved away have landed across the country (and even the globe!), meaning that we now have friends all over the place but that we have also had to say our goodbyes far too frequently over the past nearly-seven-years. Each person who’s moved on has left a mark on our hearts (and often, a void in our social calendar! One of the upsides, though, is that new friends have always stepped into those voids.)
Well, the time has come for us to start marching again. Our parade is moving on. . . to Georgia. Caleb will begin a graduate program at Emory University in Atlanta in May, so VERY soon, we will be the ones saying our goodbyes. It is bittersweet– we are excited for what is ahead, but we have come to love our lives here. This is where we went from dating to engaged to married, where we bought our first home, and where we welcomed our two children into our family. This house and this city are filled with memories and friends, and parting will be difficult.
We hear the music, and we know that God will be there right beside us, wherever this parade may lead.
