“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.” LOL! That song reminds me of when I was a little girl and in Brownies, the younger aged little ladies of the Girl Scouts. Yup, I was a cookie working sales professional with my sash and all.
I don’t know why, but these photos jogged some suppressed memory of my childhood. Hence the song. These were taken at dinner tonight. While the dinner was certainly delicious and the company was excellent, my heart and head were on overload. Our dear friends, the P family, currently in the military are leaving Korea very shortly. They will move onto their next duty station and this was one of our last buh-byes.
I know that no one said it would be easy. Actually, sometimes it’s quite hard. Yes, I admit it…living abroad can be hard! It’s not like when you were a brownie, or in grade school. You are an adult, meeting people, getting to know them, let them into your life, trust them…It takes time.
All the while, you pack up, you move, you unpack, you live, you make friends, they pack up, they move, and so on. So, when you meet other foreigners or couples, in the back of your mind you know it’s not a permanent state, but you try not to let it get to you. You try to think positively and be grateful that your paths crossed in both of your lifetimes. However, you are human. Being human means that you have those days or moments where it does get to you.
People are going to move in and out of your life. Often times it is very quickly, depending on when the timeframe you meet them was. It’s such a bittersweet feeling. The one thing that I find myself clinging onto for comfort is, knowing that we have friends that are spread out across the entire world. When we find ourselves in their parts, or them in ours, we know we will always have local tour guides to navigate the area with.
P family, Best wishes! May this new beginning bring your family success in everything that you do! Until we meet again! We miss you dearly already!
