Goodbyes should be hard.  They should get stuck in the throat, weigh heavy on the heart and kick you in the gut.  An easy goodbye is a mark of wasted time.  Farewells that roll off the tongue without causing pause and reflection means something wasn’t done right.  The moment wasn’t seized.  Life wasn’t lived. 

A parting should threaten one’s peace. It should cause at minimum, a moment of agonizing doubt.  “Should I leave?  Is this right?”  There should be at least one person being left behind that makes the leaver wonder, “How will I ever exist without this person in my life?” True, some circumstances are better viewed in a rear view mirror but not people.  Maybe some people are better as memories.  But not every person.    

Promises to “always remember” and “never forget” should be made with the best intention to fulfill.  Of course, time takes care of such promises.  The intensity of the moment lessens.  Memories are idealized.  Until one day in the future, those people that made such an indelible impression are the same ones whose names are on the tip of the tongue but the mind can’t quite recall. 

Our connection with other people is one of the determiners of our happiness.  Harmony with every person is a bit too much to hope for.  But there needs to be at least one person in every situation that makes the goodbye difficult.  That is the sign of a well lived life.