'Some Have Gone & Some Remain'

A burger place I used to go to all the time in high school has closed. I was sad to the see that the sign had changed, even though I hadn't eaten there in years.

I think that happens a lot, people lamenting the loss of a once-treasured thing that they haven't thought about or visited in ages. I roll my eyes when I read about throngs of people flocking to get their last meal from some local favorite restaurant that's closing down after falling on hard times—if everyone loved the place so much, business wouldn't have dipped and the place wouldn't need to close.

This impulse isn't saved only for places, it also happens with relationships. "We really should get together more often" is one of my least-favorite phrases. Like with the burger place, if you value a relationship, put the time in, pay a visit, make a call, do something.

Part of getting older means saying goodbye to places and relationships that once meant so much to you. Some of those partings are dramatic and traumatic that you're left with scars, while others happen so gradually and so easily that you barely notice the loss.

I'm not sure which is worse, knowing you're going to lose something that matters or realizing much later that it's long gone. I would like to have more control in both situations though, to make more of an effort, to put in the time and the work necessary so that if another of my favorite places closes or another friend and I part ways, at least I'll know I did what I could to keep them around as long as possible.