Does it ever get easier to say goodbye? I tried practicing, you know, to make it sting a little less. Goodbye. I said it straightforwardly. You know, ripping the consonants and vowels out like a band aid, hoping for a momentary sting that quickly dissipates. Nope. That hurt too much. I tried a circumvented approach, carefully selecting words which meant the same thing but were not as harsh. See you later. A little better, but the sting is still there. No matter how I sliced and diced, regardless of my meticulous choice of words, it all still meant the same thing (goodbye), and the wound left behind just the same.   I paused at the doorway. A quick scan of an empty space. Living…