Anon Advice for when friends/teammates leave

[Anonymous Post]

Through COVID DD has gotten really close with her gym teammates as they bubbled up together and basically were the only people outside of the house that they got to see.

Her best friend and teammate just let her know her family is planning on moving away very soon and it is just crushing her, anyone have advice other than the already has been said "make the most of the time you have together" and "with technology you can still stay in touch".

She has had friends leave before, but for whatever reason maybe it's age, or because they were bubble buddies and helped each other through a really hard time but this one hurts her more than previous friends leaving.

 

[Pirouette]

I'm sorry this is happening to your DD!

If it were my child, depending on age and distance apart, I would offer to arrange some kind of get together -- maybe they meet halfway for a NCAA meet or a professional sporting event, or even an overnight at a water park (depending on your comfort level with any of these activities, of course). Having something on the calendar when they would get together in person would really help my child feel like the relationship isn't over -- it's just changing.

It would not heal the hurt, but it might soften it a little.

 

[Aussie_coach]

That is so hard. I would encourage some connections with other teammates to try to soften the blow.

Perhaps arrange a few events together. Help her see that she will be able to develop other strong friendships on the team.

 

[JBS]

If it were my child, depending on age and distance apart, I would offer to arrange some kind of get together

This... totally!