From My Perspective: It's Not Really Goodbye

Sometimes in life, we find friends that mean the world to us. We just connect with them, and they become part of us.

I can count on one hand the number of extremely close friends I have, both in Lincoln and elsewhere. It takes a lot to make my one-handed list. And please don’t take it the wrong way - I have LOTS of friends, and even more acquaintances. It’s bound to happen when you are one of those “people-persons” like me. I am grateful, and value every single one of those connections. What I’m referring to, though, are those close, valued, special friends who you would go out of your way for, and they would reciprocate, in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

Seriously, if you ended up in a bad spot, who would you call? If you were going on a one-of-a-kind adventure, and you could only take one or two people with you, who would they be? If I’m right, you were able to count the number of people you would do either with, on one hand. Those people who you counted, they are your own “one-handed list.” I bet when you think of them, you can recount all sorts of special times, conversations and even heartache that you shared with just them.

Often, those close friends tend to share values, beliefs and interests. But, in my case, I have friends who don’t always think or feel the same way about a subject, a political view or their view of what’s happening in the world. What makes us friends is not just our similarities, but also our differences, and our ability to talk and respect one another’s views on any given topic. I’m fortunate to have such friends in my life.

One of those friendships happened quickly, without question, just a short two years ago. She’s been my friend, a confidante and a sounding board. She’s been someone who has wanted nothing but good for Lincoln since the day she arrived. She has ties here, and she inserted herself into our community, organizations, businesses, and into our lives through the library and our local newspaper with her articles. She’s done so in a professional and enthusiastic way, and I admire her, probably more than she’ll ever truly know.

She’s been my knitting partner on Friday afternoons, my “let’s get a cup of coffee and catch up” weekend breakfast pal, and my companion at fiber-related festivals and shows. She taught me how to put up my first tent and has listened when I just needed someone to let me talk. I’d like to think I was and am able to do the same for her. Her cats have learned to tolerate me, and if I’m being honest, they might even lean towards the “kind-of-liking-me side,” but you’d have to ask them to be sure.

By now, I’m guessing several of you can probably guess who I’m talking about. Yes, it’s Kate from the library, and that’s how I hear so many people refer to her.

More often than not, people say her name with a smile. She’s gone out of her way to help people in the community, both in her job and outside of it. Lincoln has been extremely blessed to have her here, and I consider myself doubly blessed to have her as one of my close friends.

As many of you are aware, our librarian and my close friend, Kate, will be leaving us and starting a new adventure in Boise, Idaho. I hope you’ll join me in wishing her well as she departs Lincoln. I’m so incredibly happy for her as she takes on a position doing something she loves and I can’t wait to see what she accomplishes there.

Kate, Lincoln will miss you, your friends will miss you, and I especially will miss you, your smiling face, your never-ending optimism and all of the things you think are random, useless, information that is really almost always the random, useful information I need - especially at random times in the day.

I wish you well. I wish you happiness. I wish you a sense of calm and lots of fun in your new adventure. As I’ve heard said before, this isn’t goodbye, this is just see you later, because our friendship still has lots of adventures left to encounter!