Tearing

I just noticed, for the first time, that the noun "tear" has two meanings. The first (pronounced "ter") is the jagged cut that results from pulling something apart; the second (teer) is the fluid that runs from our eyes when we - especially women - become emotional.

I suffer both tears when I am separated from someone I love.

In good times we separate from our children as they move on in life. They enter preschool and we wave them onto the bus; they enter seminary, yeshiva or college and we wave them onto the plane. They move away or get married and we embrace a new son or daughter as we concurrently say good-bye to the previous relationship we had with our children.

In heartbreaking times we also separate from our loved ones as they move on; through death, G-d forbid, or divorce.

Each separation tears us away from what we had to what will be. We are compelled to move on, to enter a new stage in our development. Each loss, good or bad, brings growth and renewal.

I know how the tree feels as it watches its leaves, so beautifully colored and in their prime, fall to the ground. I, too, need time to restore my strength before I can create anew. Then spring arrives and I move on.