This is how we say goodbye...

Two nights ago, we said goodbye to another community member. It’s almost always a bittersweet experience to see off somebody who’s ready to move on. On one hand, I’m proud and excited for the person who’s made great strides and is ready to try their hand at the world outside. And on the other, I’m sad to be left behind to experience the void left in the community by their absence.

Well, sad or ecstatic, the send-off party was a blast! There was a hayride! And Jell-O salad! And jumping rope! It was E’s idea to have a unique party, so she figured a hayride would be nice and we could all enjoy some Minnesotan cuisine, hence three varieties of Jell-O salad. And because things weren’t different enough, we could all jump rope.

So here’s the run-down. Picture it: at least 20 Gould Farmers climbing onto a rickety hay-wagon that’s covered in the most loosely packed hay bales that were left in the barn from last season. It’s a wonder we didn’t all roll off when the tractor lurched out of the driveway of Main House. The whole ride was fun, despite the seemingly constant danger of tipping. The weather was beautiful for a ride, and the sun was setting through the clouds just as we approached the farm.


Now, when was the last time you jumped rope? Everybody got in on the action. It was so amusing to see a bunch of adults try to jump rope after years of not having done it. And we even had a four-year old jumping for the first time with her mother. Nobody was bashful, and some were fantastic jumpers. We tried multiples, different games, and eventually settled into just plain counting how long we could keep it up. For two hours!


I guess we say goodbye so often here that, by now, we’ve learned how to do it with pizzazz!