"It's Not A Goodbye, It's a See You Later"

Here he is making me pancakes!

My Fave!

Yesterday, I had to say good bye to my best friend Gabriel who was heading back to the Twin Cities. He goes to school at Maclaster College, which is pretty far away from where I currently am. (Over one thousand miles, isn't that crazy?)
Saying goodbye to someone is never easy. When I said goodbye to Alessia, my friend in Italy, it was hard because I didn't know when I was going to see her again. Or even if, because plane tickets are expensive. With that being said, saying goodbye to Gabriel wasn't bad because we knew one thing. We would see each other when he got back.
Over the break, it's safe to say that I have spent most of my time with him. I feel bad for ditching my other friends, however I hope that they understand that the fact that he's not here everyday makes the time that I do get to spend with him very precious. Towards the end of his time here, we try to spend as much time humanly possible together because we know that this is truly it. We usually try to take a bunch of pictures (my doing) so we can have them when we are apart. We have a ritual where we would eat pizza together, and get Starbucks, which we do. We said goodbye yesterday as he dropped me off to work. We ate lunch together, and I went to his father's church service. (His parents are ministers)
Even though the goodbye was sad, I knew that I would be seeing him again in March when he comes home for Spring Break. That means I'll see him in less than 60 days. The last time, it was a lot harder because I knew that I wouldn't see him until there was snow on the ground. I also didn't know what I would be expecting when he left.
I realized something too. I realized that no matter how far we go from each other, I will always have him as a friend. I learned that distance truly shouldn't affect your friendship. I do think it changes it because we're no longer living in the same time zone. You have to realize that both parties have things going on. For example we try to talk on the phone at least once a month, skype as much as humanly possible, and make sure that we text as much as we can. He's my best friend, and I truly realized that as he went away. When we were reunited, it felt like we technically weren't apart. That, my friend, is the true meaning of friendship.
So Herb, I will miss you very much. However, I hope that you have a great semester. I hope that you have a great time, and I hope that when you get back in March we will have lots of fun adventures ahead of us. Here's to the Starbucks, and to the good times. I love you, and it's really not a good bye. It's a see you in March kind of thing.