But it was not your fault, but mine.
And it was your heart on the line.
I really fucked it up this time.
Didn't I, my dear?

- Mumford & Sons, Little Lion Man

-+-

-- "That's weird.  So you like goodbyes?"
"Yeah.  I love last moments."

-+-

I nudged him with my elbow and nodded knowingly.  "It's okay," I said with firm urgency, "I'll take this one for the team."

"Thanks," he grinned. 

With that, I found resolve.  With that, there was a comforting warmth and a few pounds of weight off my shoulders.

Although grateful for this little victory, I just wish that all conclusions could be so easy.  After all, it had only been a few hours since the last time that I had to give a heart-heavy goodbye.   I feel like I've just had too many Last Moments recently, and too many Goodbyes.

I wonder if that was the last time that I would ever walk away from that doorway.  In fact, I wonder about all the things I've walked away from, and about all of the things ahead.

And, just like the start of last year, I find myself grumbling, "This is so stressful, and the semester hasn't even started yet."  Except now, these words taste familiar.  I feel like I have this talk with myself at the start of every semester.

"I'll be okay," I smiled.  Once again, the words flowed with an eerily familiar taste.

However, even when I only half-believed the words whenever I said them, they were words that have always, always, always, been true. 

"I'll be okay."