Written in June:
My oldest has said his goodbyes and is already back in the USA at a 3 week camp. My youngest and I will leave in one week and my husband the week after. We will return in August to pack up and head back home. This leaves us in an odd place. Many people we will not see again but some will be here when we return for two weeks. It is so hard to say goodbye. We have started getting goodbye gifts which makes it all too real. Friendships are developed quickly and deeply. I have made friends that I feel as close to in less than 2 years, than those that it took 5 years to develop at home. I hope to see them all again but realistically, I will never see most of them again. My youngest is having the hardest time with the goodbyes and has definitively said he does not want to ever become a professional expat. He believes it is just too hard to say goodbye to friends again and again. Sometimes I agree with him. There are days I wish I never left my hometown and still was close friends with my friends from the past but I know that is an illusion. Even those who have stayed in town and are still friends with the same people have changed and grown. We all move on in our own way. I have lost many friends through time but always figured I would see them again in the years to come at reunions, trips home, or just randomly. I have lost touch with friends that live in the same city but somehow this is much easier as it happens over time and without a big farewell. So I think in many ways it is better to have this definitive goodbye so I can tell my friends what their friendship has meant to me, something I did not do with so many over the years as we simply have lost touch. The leaving date has given me the opportunity to ensure people know what mark they have made in my life. We may see each other again or not, but they will stay in my heart. This has inspired me to try to find some friends from the past and make sure they know what their friendship meant to me. I also hope to tell people what they mean to me without saying goodbye. I think that is my greatest life lesson from this experience. I need to tell all my friends and family how much they mean to me.
My oldest has said his goodbyes and is already back in the USA at a 3 week camp. My youngest and I will leave in one week and my husband the week after. We will return in August to pack up and head back home. This leaves us in an odd place. Many people we will not see again but some will be here when we return for two weeks. It is so hard to say goodbye. We have started getting goodbye gifts which makes it all too real. Friendships are developed quickly and deeply. I have made friends that I feel as close to in less than 2 years, than those that it took 5 years to develop at home. I hope to see them all again but realistically, I will never see most of them again. My youngest is having the hardest time with the goodbyes and has definitively said he does not want to ever become a professional expat. He believes it is just too hard to say goodbye to friends again and again. Sometimes I agree with him. There are days I wish I never left my hometown and still was close friends with my friends from the past but I know that is an illusion. Even those who have stayed in town and are still friends with the same people have changed and grown. We all move on in our own way. I have lost many friends through time but always figured I would see them again in the years to come at reunions, trips home, or just randomly. I have lost touch with friends that live in the same city but somehow this is much easier as it happens over time and without a big farewell. So I think in many ways it is better to have this definitive goodbye so I can tell my friends what their friendship has meant to me, something I did not do with so many over the years as we simply have lost touch. The leaving date has given me the opportunity to ensure people know what mark they have made in my life. We may see each other again or not, but they will stay in my heart. This has inspired me to try to find some friends from the past and make sure they know what their friendship meant to me. I also hope to tell people what they mean to me without saying goodbye. I think that is my greatest life lesson from this experience. I need to tell all my friends and family how much they mean to me.
