I have a very close and very lovely best friend. She was bridesmaid at my wedding and is the godmother to my toddler. We live in the same city and see each other really often. She's had an absolutely awful year: her relationship with her immediate family has all but broken down, she's struggling to get her career off the ground, doesn't have a great deal of money and her living situation is not great either. To top it all off, on a romantic level, it's gone badly wrong not just once, but twice, over the past year. We've got even closer during this time as she has desperately needed a shoulder to cry on (and despite all this, to her credit, she has remained a shoulder for me as well, although luckily I haven't needed it much).
She does have several other close friends, but I know I am her closest friend (and vice versa). She is also very close to my toddler, who loves her and pretty much considers her third best after mummy and daddy.
DH has got a job (promotion) in Reading. My best friend has no idea we were looking elsewhere - we didn't say anything because we didn't want her to worry for nothing that we might move, particularly as things have been so rough for her lately. She didn't need any added stress. The move is mainly great news for us, as it hopefully means we can get on the property ladder, get a bigger house with a garden, and best of all, be close to my sister and her children. Obviously I will badly miss seeing my friend so often.
The move will be bad news from her perspective: even when we go on holiday she says she misses us badly (and I miss her!). Reading isn't far from London, but it's still not a journey that can be made so easily, and it's a lot more expensive.
I'm trying to work out how to break the news to her. It's really worrying me. I want to tell her in person, but how difficult will this be for her, as I know she will feel she has to put on an act of being happy for us - in fact she will be, but she will be feeling very sad too.
If you were my friend, would you prefer to be told something like this in a letter/long email the night before meeting up, so as to be prepared, and then be able to talk about it all the next day? I'm just trying to imagine dropping the bombshell while my toddler is dragging at her leg begging for a story/cuddle etc!
I know I am probably overthinking this, but the thought of telling her the news is really upsetting me. I know this will just be another thing to add to her bad year.