Goodbye...to...Hello...

Today was the first of many goodbyes on this adventure.  Goodbyes are hard; there is no other way to put it.  They make my heart hurt; they make me reminisce.  Some goodbyes are forever while some are just a see ya later.  

Today I said goodbye to a student's family.  As a speech-language pathologist, I had worked with this little one for four years.  I watched him grow, develop, and become a little guy with great skills.  As I shared a video of his session with his mother, my heart swelled with pride over his achievements.  I love my career and the kiddos I work with.  Over my career, I have had the privilege of working with a variety of kids who have each enriched my life.  As this mother was expressing her gratitude, I felt that I should be thanking her.  She entrusted her son and his future to my care.  She trusted my clinical skills.  Over the past four years, I have worked with her little one to develop functional communication and basic language skills.  I wrote goals, took data, played games, and read books with her little one.  During our goodbye, this mother thanked me for teaching her little one to talk, to engage, and to play.  She thanked me for believing in him and his ability to communicate.  After she was sharing with me what she felt I had done, I expressed to her what her little one had taught me.  He taught me that sometimes you just have to laugh, the best game is chase, looking for hidden treasures is always exciting, and most of all, celebrate all the victories!  

I then said goodbye to an organization that I have been a part of for six years.  This group of professionals have become some of my friends.  We have discussed tough days and cases, laughed over funny therapy sessions, and eaten a good share of chocolate.  They are amazing group of women who are committed to their careers and the clients they serve.  Through this organization, I have learned and refined my clinical skills.  They make me excited to be a speech-language pathologist and remind me why I love my career on the roughest of days. 

As we continue on this adventure, one of the hardest aspects has been saying goodbye to my career while we are in the UK.  Being a speech-language pathologist is a part of my identity.  It is hard to say goodbye to this phase of my life for the time-being.  I will always cherish my first six years as a speech-language pathologist and truly believe that I will continue in my career when we repatriate. 
While I am saying goodbye, I remind myself that I am saying hello to something new!

As we continue to say our goodbyes, I hope I can remember that I am also saying HELLO! 

Remember, the lights are always on!
~W