Yesterday we received word from very good friends that they will be finishing their assignment in December - 6 months earlier than planned. I was not prepared by the wave of emotion that struck me by the news. I knew coming into this year that we would have a lot of good-byes to say at the end of the year due to the "3 year cycle" and the fact that a lot of our friends were on year two last year. However, I was not prepared to be so upset by our friends leaving.
When we first decided to come on an expat assignment I thought privately in my mind that I would spend three years enjoying my family, travelling, learning another language, and meeting people from all over the world. I did not envision deep friendships as part of the equation. I just assumed that because I knew this was "temporary" I would save myself from the pain of eventually saying good-bye. I've had to do that too many times. For those of you who know me well, you probably aren't surprised that deep friendships have become one of the most important parts of this experience for me. A really good massage would not be nearly as fun if I didn't have someone to tell about it, and who wants to go haggle your way through the silk market alone, and who else understands this crazy, backwards country that we are living in better than our dear friends. I now realize how deep I already am in my friendships here, so this year I plan on loving, supporting, and celebrating these friends and our time here in China!
I am blessed and I am thankful for the friends we have in our life, and instead of good-bye, we will use, until we meet again!!!
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Goodbye in Chinese and in French translates to "to see again" so it makes it a bit less sad. I am so glad that you all have made such good friends. You have a special gift of connecting to people.
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