There is something humbling about August farewells

August always carries a certain weight to it.

The days remain long and warm, yet something shifts.

The evenings cool a little earlier, the air holds a faint trace of autumn, and the sunsets linger with a softer light.

It’s as if the world itself is reminding us that change is on its way.

Late August has always been a season of transitions. Students pack their bags for school, young adults head off to new beginnings, and families fit in one last picnic or road trip before the rhythm of fall settles in.

Goodbyes are scattered across this time of year — sometimes temporary, sometimes lasting, but always tinged with the awareness that seasons never stand still.

I know I keep returning to this theme of letting go, but I think it’s important for us to reflect on. The delicate balance of holding on and letting go is something we continually face.

Some of us are better at it than others. I know I struggle with it. Maybe you do, too.

I still remember my own farewell when I left for college. My mother had told herself she wouldn’t cry when her and dad dropped me off. She did. And so did I. That moment stays with me because it captured the tenderness of parting: the hope for what was ahead mixed with the ache of leaving behind what had been familiar and safe.

Farewells always carry both.

Friendship, after all, is not only about shared laughter or long conversations. It is about presence — the simple act of showing up, again and again, in both ordinary days and extraordinary ones.

And while every friendship will eventually face moments of parting, those farewells do not erase what came before. They remind us that what was shared mattered.

Perhaps that is why friendships are so cherished: because we know, in some quiet corner of our hearts, that they are fragile.

Paths diverge, life shifts, and people we once saw every day may become memories we carry with us. Yet, even in their absence, the lessons remain — the loyalty, the joy, the forgiveness, the comfort of being known.

There is something humbling about August farewells. They remind us that life cannot be paused, no matter how much we might wish it. The calendar turns, the seasons roll forward, and we are asked to walk with courage into what comes next. But maybe the secret is not to hold on too tightly, but to treasure what was given.

Friendships, like seasons, leave their mark even after they pass.

As August slips away, it offers a gentle reminder: hold close to the people who walk alongside you, whether for a season or a lifetime. Each farewell is proof that love and connection are real. And every friendship and every farewell, no matter how long or short, leaves an imprint that endures.

May you find comfort in the friendships you have known, courage in the farewells you face, and joy in the promise that love— once shared — never truly leaves us.

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Richard Stride is the current CEO of Cascade Community Healthcare.