If you are an expat, May and June can be difficult. It's farewell season. Some years are harder than others and this year is a particularly hard one, as there have been too many farewells to people who are significant in my life and mean a lot to me. These are the farewells where you feel raw. Where there is a certain amount of grief. I notice that none of us like to say "goodbye" ... its always, "see you later", "see you on Skype ... Facebook" ... etc. Promises made of visits. But in the end, the threads of the fabric you have woven together are still untangled and cut - and there is a certain level of rawness and grief that goes with that. It hurts.
What I do choose to focus on, is the beauty of what has been woven together in this specific season. Yuri Kochiyama (who was a Japanese American human rights activist) nailed it when she said, "Life is not what you alone make it. Life is the input of everyone who touched your life and every experience that entered it. We are all part of one another."
Although it hurts to say farewell, I would never forgo the hurt. It only hurts because there is love involved. To my beautiful friends who are leaving this year and to my friend who has already left - thank you. Thankyou for love, laughter and friendship. Thankyou for opening yourself to me. Thank you for travelling with me on life's journey and becoming part of the fabric of my life. This one is for YOU.
Seasons of Love from Sarah Carpenter on Vimeo.
