Sadness and Goodbyes

It's funny how goodbyes are. I've never really liked them. Some people deal with them really well. They look at them as the natural evolution of things in life. I just see them as separation from something that is or has become dear to you in some way. I don't want to appear mushy but I am awfully affected by friends who say goodbye. In my office, I work with a lot of fantastic people. Non-conformist, brilliant, funny, disturbed all rolled into one. But I really only socialize with a handful of them- by socializing I mean exchanging more than the usual chit chat and pleasantries. Perhaps it has something to do with my introverted personality but over the almost 4 years I have been working at my office, I can say that I have developed some good friendships, with people I really admire. Because of this, I am greatly affected when anyone from that handful decides that it's time to leave. One already did so early this year (that was hard) and now three of my friends are deciding to do the same (for their own important, individual reasons) in the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year. I think it's more than I can take. I've prided myself over being tough, and strong, and hardy in times of adversity. But these imminent goodbyes make me just want to cry. Literally. The song 'Closing Time' has a clincher line that goes "every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end." This is really good for them. New beginnings for bigger and better things are always things to look forward to and be happy about. But I'm just sad. Sad, sad, sad. Sigh.