It’s Never Easy to Say Goodbye

Overall, I love living an expat life.

It's exciting to meet new people, learn about different cultures, explore the country and its neighborhoods, and find a new house.

Most of all, I appreciate the opportunity that Olivia has been growing up in such a diverse environment.

However, like everything else, it's not all just a fairytale.

And one of the most significant downsides to me is having to say goodbye to people we got close to.

Unfortunately, it happens 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 a half years ago.

I knew they were moving soon, but it was not until the day came that I realized 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 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 met, yet their daughter was new to the school.

And both girls joined it the precise 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 a tough time (when I decided to start this blog) and was quite reflective.

But I knew I had to try harder for Olivia! Despite the many challenges a 6-year-old could face, she was resilient and optimistic.

So 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.

She tried to teach me some recipes – she is Italian, so I guess cooking is in her blood.

She even introduced me to the incredible foundation I've been volunteering at.

When the world was still a "normal" place, and the girls could have free playdates after school, we'd spent hours 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 petite figure.

But they have one thing in common; they are both strong-willed girls. And this has resulted in some disagreements.

Still, against all the odds, they became best friends!

Of course, they did not play together all the time, but they knew they always had each other.

Yesterday they had a last playdate before they left.

Since we were in a "light" lockdown, they could not go downstairs, so I was dreading they had to be inside the apartment the whole day.

I was already prepared for the quarrels.

To my surprise, there was none! As if they knew it was the last time, at least for some time, and they wanted to make the most.

They played beautifully, and I peeked at the moments with nostalgia 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 extraordinary memories we've built together in the last 2 and a half years.

See you soon, dear friends…. Ciao!