Ita Not Easy to Say That Most Days
Overall, I love living an expat life. I find it so exciting meeting new people, learning about different cultures, exploring the country and its neighbourhoods, finding a new house and most of all, I really appreciate the opportunity that Olivia has been growing up in such a diverse environment.
However, as with everything else in life, it's not all just a fairytale. And one of the biggest downsides to me is having to say goodbye to people that we got close to. Unfortunately, more frequently than I'd like to.
Yesterday was one of these hard days when we sadly had to say "see you soon". It touched me in a way that it hasn't for quite some time – more precisely, since I left Dubai 2 and half years ago.
I knew they were moving soon, but it's not until the day came that I realised it was actually happening. I spent the last few days thinking about them and how I could tell my friend how much she and her family represented to us.
She was my first friend in Singapore, as was her daughter to mine. They had been living here for over a year when we've met, yet their daughter was new to the school. And both girls joined it the exactly same day, in the middle of the school year.
Our bond was instant, both mothers and daughters – including her little sister. When I met them, I was going through some tough time (that's when I decided to start this blog) and a quite introspective one.
But I knew I had to try harder for Olivia! She was being so resilient and optimistic, despite the many challenges a 6 year old could face. I had to push myself to leave my comfort zone and get out of my shell.
And this friend was instrumental to that! We had countless coffees after we dropped the girls off, after pick up time and anything in between! 😉 She showed me so many new places, tried to teach me some recipes – she is Italian, so I guess cooking is in her blood, and even introduced me to the wonderful foundation that I've been working for.
When the world was still a "normal" place and the girls could have free playdates after school, we'd spent hours there just chatting about anything and everything, while the girls played at the school playground.
Speaking of which, they couldn't be more different, in almost every aspect. Olivia is super sporty, active and relentless. Her friend is calm, relaxed and cautious. Olivia is always running, jumping and climbing. Her friend could spend hours playing with dolls. Olivia is in the 99th height percentile, while her friend has a very petit figure. But there is one thing they have in common, they are both strong-willed girls. And this has resulted in some disagreements.
Still, against all the odds, they became best friends! They did not play together all the time, but they knew they always had each other.
Yesterday they had a last playdate before they leave. Since we are in a "light" lockdown, they could not go downstairs, so I was dreading the fact they had to be inside the apartment the whole day. I was already prepared for the fights.
To my surprise, there was none! It's almost as they knew it was the last time, at least for quite some time, and they wanted to make the most.
They played beautifully well, and I peaked the moments with a nostalgic and mixed feelings. Happy for this true friendship and sad that this has to come to an "end". At least for now…
When you are an expat, your friends become your family and the people you can rely on. No matter how many times you've done this, it's never easy saying goodbye to those that are key to your life. Some people are just too special to let it go without leaving a hole in our hearts.
You will always be in our thoughts and our hearts! Thank you for these extraordinaries memories that we've built together in the last 2 and half years.
See you soon dear friends…. Ciao!
Last Updated on December 29, 2021
Source: https://onlychildworld.com/its-never-easy-to-say-goodbye/
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