This time of year makes me think about the way we say goodbye after we have spent time with one another. I used to call it the “Beerman Good-bye”, but as I have aged and observed others doing similar actions, I think it is more the “Minnesota Good-bye”. As our family comes for a couple days, I am almost positive that most of these actions, if not all, will take place at our house.
The first traditional movement in the stages of good-bye is usually seeing someone stand up and “signal” that the process must be started. Many times this is made by the driver of the car, or a spouse who is anxious to get going, or oftentimes a teenager that has bigger and better plans waiting ahead! And, let’s face it, this signal just begins the process, so they know how long the entire ordeal is going to take!
The next step, often a lengthy one, is hugs. Everyone gets one, from grandpa down to the babies, and sometimes they are pretty drawn out. It just depends on how long it has been since these hugs have occurred. Or maybe not! In our family, these hugs are pretty standard whoever you may be hugging. And many times there are multiple ones for grandma and grandpa, a sibling, or a cousin.
Once everyone gets a squeeze (or maybe two), “the walk” begins to the door. Everyone who has experienced this before knows that this is going to take at least 20 minutes, no matter how far the door is. Chatter is carried on about how good the food was, or maybe when you will see each other again. Any number of topics could come up!
Getting to the door is hard, BUT then there is the mid-doorway “chat”. The conversation at this point has very little to do with anything, and usually some belly laughs occur. This step can be from 5-45 minutes, depending on who is driving! ( If you didn’t go to the bathroom before you tried to leave, then you will probably go back to square one.)
In the middle of the talking you will eventually hear someone say, “We should really be going”….This means you need to get out of the doorway and start to make the descent to the car!
Once the first hour of good-byes has elapsed, and the sun is setting, the second round of hugs begins. This time there is less talking, but definately more patting on the back and side-swaying! The goal here is to “get out of the door”….and you need to keep your eye on the prize! That would be the doorknob.
You’ve got it…hand on the door handle…but WAIT..another conversation starts up! No one can leave now until someone says good-bye! The laughter erupts….and you might have moved ten feet.
Eventaully you’ve made your way down to the driveway, and yet another conversation may arise. Who knows the time at this point? It has been long enough now that the meal has been digested and you might need a snack!
When you’ve finally made it out of the house and into the car, you quickly look back and see the window wave! If it has gotten dark by now, then the owners of the house flicker the porch light in their attempt to wave in the dark. The only correct response to that is a series of honks to give the final good-bye!
However your family says good-bye, the wonderful part is that the get-together actually happened! Until the next time, blessings abound and memories surface. A great part of family life, for sure.
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