What do you do if a 4-year-old’s little heart is broken?
Today Boo was asked to say prayer for her school’s morning circle….she stepped into the middle of all the children and teachers and prayed with everyone repeating after her:
for food and drinks…
(long awkward pause)
and Ava.
Amen
Ava is one of Boo’s friends at school…a year older than Boo. Boo has a doll named after her, she writes Ava letters a few times a week and Ava is the topic of almost every conversation. Boo even named one of our new sewing machines “Ava.” Every morning when we drop Boo off at school she doesn’t even say goodbye….she takes off across the playground straight for Ava.
But last week…..Ava moved away with her family.
And Boo is devastated.
She tears up at any mention of Ava’s name. She cries when we drop her off at school. Her lip trembles if we ask her to talk about Ava. And things that were okay last week aren’t okay anymore. Reading The Giving Tree last night she got a little teary and said:
While brushing her hair tonight I asked her if we should draw a picture of Ava so we could hang it up….the corners of her mouth turned down, tears formed, and she said “I can’t remember exactly what she looks like.“
And then…..I found a letter tonight on our dresser…..a letter she wrote Ava using a box of old papers and antique photos I let her play with:
It reads inside “I don’t miss you” (she still writes backwards) and I can’t make the words out at the bottom.
She chose an old antique photo of two girlfriends…..as if that would be her and Ava one day:
So tomorrow….I’ll ask the school and see if they can find out Ava’s new address for us and hope that if we write Ava…..Ava will write back.
*As teary as this entire post makes me as I write it…..I can’t stop giggling at two things:
1. She chose a photo slide of an elderly couple for the card as well.
2. The last time she said the morning prayer for the school she thanked God for “kittens, puppies…..and Sienna” (herself) which was hilarious with everyone repeating after her.
saddest thing ever!! i hope the school gives you ava's address. poor boo!!!
Awww poor kid. Sounds like Ava really meant a lot to her. It's too bad you guys didn't get to exchange info before they left. I hope the school can work something out.
P.S. I chuckled out loud when I read the last two statements.
Oh my gosh, this post breaks my heart! I hope that the school has Ava's new address and that she and Boo can be penpals.
Poor sweet girl! It is so hard to watch your child experience loss and sadness like that. We are a military family so we have had our fair share of goodbyes. I think writing a letter to Ava will do wonders for Boo. It has really helped my girls to know that even though their friends have move (or we do) they can still keep in touch with them. Goodbyes are always hard!
Ohhhhh poor thing 🙁 I hope you are able to get her address.
Aww, your little girl is soo adorable!! I hope you can get her new address so they can stay in touch.
and your last paragraph about her prayer made me laugh! 🙂
aww! Thats so sad! Sounds like her little heart is broken! I hope the school can help you out some.
As for the last two sentences. LOL!!!
if that isn't heartbreaking i dont know what is!! REALLY hope they can give you her addy!
It's so hard to leave friends, and to see them leave. It's so hard for little ones… We are a military family, and move every 3-4 years. It was hard for my daughter Eden in the beginning. But when I talked to her about how some people are in our lives only for a season, so that we may learn something (the nice people and even the not-so-nice people), and how God gives us what we need when we need it, she began to understand. Her friend was a gift to her, and she was a gift to her friend, and this "gift" was not taken away, but rather, this is how she learned to love and be a friend, and she will always carry that. That's what I told my Eden anyway. All the best! Love your blog! ~Carla
She sounds like she has an old soul!!! I feel so sad for her heart ache, but at the same time, it's the sweetest thing ever!
We moved from Idaho to Michigan when my daughter was 5. She cried a lot about missing her friends. Writing helped. I wonder if you can Skype with the family so the girls can see and talk to each other! (Writing was so time consuming and difficult for my daughter, she often didn't want to do it.) Skype is a beautiful things.
that is so very sad! Poor sweet little thing…do love the photo though 🙁
Aw, poor little sweetie! That letter is too cute! I hope you can connect with Ava!
Poor Boo!! Hugs and kisses from Atlanta xoxo
If the school can't give you her information, maybe they can pass your information along to them since you are giving permission on your part. I did that one time with a friend of my son's and it worked. Good luck!
How precious! I hope you can get the address, and they can be pen pals 🙂 My almost 3 yo girl has a "best friend" at our playgroup, for one month we didn't go…. she would talk about Haliea everyday, and cry if we drove past the center….. now they run to each other each time they meet. Little girls are such a joy!
Poor sweet girl! I had to move away from my best friend, Tasha when I was seven and I was heartbroken. I'm sure Ava would LOVE a letter from Boo. I always loved getting and sending letters to Tasha and we are still friends today, even though we are half a world away from each other. Hope Boo's heart heals soon and I hope you get that addy!!
Poor thang! I do feel your heartache…..my little boy (my only boy and youngest) is in Kindergarden this year and got in the car a couple of months ago all teary eyed and sniffeling because his friend Colton moved away. He said "they packed up all his cubbie and just took it away momma! It's all gone and he's never coming back!"
They are very dramamtic at that age and will hopefully move on…..I hope you guys do find out their new address and they can always be pen pals.
Wishing you and little Sienna have a wonderful rest of the week 🙂
Poor thing i hope school can get the address for you. We are a military family so we move and my oldest has to leave behind friends. We have a pillow with his friends picture on it maybe if your able to get a picture you can try this. (hugs)
Michelle
Aww, your poor sweet, sensitive little girl!
I hope you can work something out. You never know, if they're tech-savy enough maybe they could even Skype?
oh Ashley … twannnnnnnnng!!! all teary here 🙁 🙁 🙁 little love here too has been devastated by the transient nature of life a couple of times. after Kinder her best friend and we moved at the same time. through the unbearable pain they had their contact info in place and actually told each other that "the world is round wherever we may go in opposite directions, we might just bump into each other one fine day!!! it was so difficult to see them reason it out … sniff sniff … i do hope they meet up soon.
That is amazing. It sounds like you and your husband are both uber smart so it should be no surprise, but Sienna is academically already on a 1st grade level with her writing and spelling. Maybe she can be a female Doogie Howser or something 🙂
Letter writing is a lost art form, so I love that she writes letters to her friend. But you might also want to look into Skype. Our friend's little girl was devastated when her best friend moved away, but they made a committment to Skype a couple times a month. Almost 2 years later the girls are still best friends!
My DD is going to lose her BFF next mos….sigh. Skype will soften the blow a bit I hope:(
Gosh that is SO hard. Tears are streaming down my face. Hang in there Sienna!
If you have Ava's old address Boo you write to that address and on the envelope put Address Service Requested below your return address – they will forward the letter and provide you with separate information regarding the forwarding address, assuming they put in a forwarding address request with the USPS! Karin
oh my gosh i had tears streaming down my face as i read this post! really. i just want to hug boo. this happened to me when i was a little older than her (8 years old), but i was the one who moved. it was so sad for my friend and me. it happened again when i was senior in high school…yes, i had to move my senior year! bleh. it didn't get any easier as i got older. it is so amazing how this young girl can express herself and work through her feelings. she is very special.
Oh, my heart is breaking for Boo! I'm so glad you've managed to find Ava. WHen I was 5, my friend moved away with her family (and by friend, I mean we rode the bus together!) and I was miserable. I had a Rainbow Brite record with a song on it about friendship sung by Rainbow and Patty O'Green… and I remember playing it over and over on my little Fisher Price record player and crying in my bedroom. THe line that really got my little 5 year old heart? "Where would I be without you as my friend, and what would I do without you?" The memory makes me smile now, but I can just feel Boo's heartache! Hope she's feeling a little better!
Allison
http://www.myrainasunshine.blogspot.com
[email protected]
I understand what she is going through because my 7 year old,Halle is going through the same thing, except we are the ones that moved. We moved almost 2 years ago and she still cries for her best friend Lucy and you can forget watching Where The Wild Things are because she cries hysterically when Max leaves the Wild Things. It is a process, a hard one but it does get better. She doesn't cry as often but I know she still misses Lucy so much.
Hey, Ashley. I have often seen kids write "faen" for "friend." (If you try to sound out their version, you can kind of figure out why.) I have also often seen kids use "I" instead of "me," because they do not quite understand the usage difference yet. So when I see sweet Boo's letter, I wonder if what little Boo wrote at the bottom was "I friend missing" – like "My friend is missing." That is what it looks like to me – a former teacher of wee ones. Almost like she wrote "I don't miss you" and then got sad about it and wrote "My friend is missing." Obviously I do not know, but that would be my guess. Poor sweet little Boo.
Thank you for ending this sad yet tender post with the funny about everyone repeating her prayer. My husband is still looking at me wondering why I'm laughing 😉
This breaks my heart! We are moving in a few months and I'm afraid my 4 year old is going to be crushed to leave her "favorite friends" (as she calls them). I'm already crying about it everytime I think about the last time she will see them. I hope Boo and my little girl can find good ways to keep in touch with their best buddies, and also realize they will make lots and lots of other best friends in their lives!
: ( Tearing up here, too. So hard on little ones. Big ones, too. Do you have Skype? Might be fun for the girls to be able to have Skype chats once in a while!!
Hugs for Boo & Ava.
i hope boo is feeling better and that they can be pen pals. 🙂 and what a funny little girl she is, gotta be thankful for yourself, sounds like she's wiser than most. 🙂
I hope you are able to get in touch with her! If the school doesn’t have her new address maybe you could write her at her old address… in hopes that they have had their mail forwarded. Being a military brat myself, this has worked for me before!
Man, I must be way over-emotional right now or something. I am just bawling after reading this. I so want Boo and Ava to see each other again! I want to know the rest of the story! I really hope Boo is able to contact her again soon. Ah man… tiny broken hearts are like a million times worse than big broken hearts.