Buddy

We moved in to this house on a Thursday. Nov 11, 2003. On Friday afternoon the blond haired kids, Brooke and Buddy, from across the street came over and introduced themselves. Derek has been friends with them ever since.

Last Sunday those blond hair kids moved away. Derek was so sad when they finally drove away.
Thankfully with technology being what it is today he has had a few emails and xbox live messages from his old pal but it's not the same.
Today his friend Buddy returned to the house to pick up a few more items and Derek and Buddy got to play. The two ran and hugged each other in the middle of the court and then they were off. To the Lego's, to the xbox, to the backyard how much can we cram into this very short time we have? It wasn't long enough. Buddy had to go back to his new city, to his new home and Derek is left feeling sad and lonely all over again.
Last week we took him out for pizza and ice cream to cheer him up. Today Dom looked at me when Buddy left again and said "Pizza" and I shook my head.
Yes we will have pizza tonight for my boy Derek.
I don't want him to not want to see his friend any more because it's too hard to say good bye. Derek takes a lot of stuff to heart. He still talks about my Grandmother that passed this August and how she was always nice to him and hugged him. He talks about the night Daddy left for Iraq.
In the end he'll be a compassionate soul I think. He is kind and gentle with younger kids and is always so good with kids we encounter at the many places we take Joseph for therapy or appointments. He doesn't stare, he doesn't ask questions because he knows that those kids like his brother are just kids that happen to have disabilities.
So today he's sad once more. I don't blame him. I am sad too.