No Crying in Baseball

Yael just left my house. She leaves at 4 a.m. for New York, to medical school at Cornell and the most amazing four years of her life. I could not be more proud of her accomplishments and her strength; she is absolutely doing the right thing, and it is not the easy way out.

And as I sit here writing this, I'm crying. I'm not a crier, but I'm also not used to being the one left behind. I'm crying for many reasons. I'm crying because, in a way, this is a milestone. Things will probably never be the same. I have no doubt that our friendship will continue, but it will be. . .different, somehow. (Sorry, it's hard to be eloquent or even coherent when you're blowing your nose every 30 seconds).

I am also crying because while I know she is doing the right thing, I know it is hard for her. It will be hard to leave the home she has known all her life, to leave her mother who depends on her and her friends on whom she depends. But she needs to do it. She will be a better person for it, no doubt, but there will be many, many dark days, days of uncomfortable change and adjustment, and it is hard for me to see that in her future and not worry.

But most of all, I'm crying because I miss her already. I will miss the 9 o'clock phone calls and the visits to Barbie's classroom and getting told all the time how much she likes me.

Now it's up to Barbie and me to keep this town running. I'll do my best.

Oh, and one confession: we went to see the Princess Diaries 2 tonight, and so I must quote a line (hey, I never said I wasn't cheesy): "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the belief that something else is more important."

Yael, you will do well at medical school and be a fabulous doctor. And I love you more than you will ever know. And God loves you even more.