My nephew is 16 months old — a delightful talking, giggling, impish kiddo.

Recently he instructed me to put him in the “take-a-walk” backpack, and insisted on bringing his big ol’ fire truck with us. Worried the truck would just get thrown on my toes, I pried it out of his hands to the sound of a mournful squeal.

Just them his mom called from the kitchen, “Say ‘bye-bye’ to the truck!” I know a good trick when I hear it.

“Bye bye,” I waved to the truck as I placed it on the couch. “Bye bye, fire truck.”

Immediately the whimpering stopped. “Buh bye,” he called out, suddenly delighted. “Buh bye fuh guck.”

Wow! How easily Sebastian  was able to let go of his desire to bring the firetruck. All it took was taking a moment to say “Goodbye.”  To sever the ties. To choose to be without.

For the rest of the walk — in between pointing out “Gucks!” (trucks) and “Gahs” (cars) — I reflected on how choosing to say goodbye gives people a sense of control.

The next time I find myself clinging to something that is gone — or going — I want to remember the fire truck. I could whimper and fight the loss. Or find a way to say “Buh bye Fuh guck.”

I’ll be pondering this one for a while…