Goodbye {at the Grove}

Just three weeks in to our second term and the goodbyes are still fresh in our minds.  The grief still raw.  That hug from my dad as he whispers "i hate this".  The sight of my family waving from the porch of the house I knew as my Mommom Rambo's... and my kids know as Grandma Laurie's...  A kiss on the forehead of my one-year old niece who will only remember me as a face on the computer screen.  It. is. so. hard.

And yet, there are all these other things we say goodbye to as we move to a foreign country.  Things we may not realize we needed to say goodbye to- and things we must take time to grieve- so that we can move forward in health.  Here a few that come to mind {please add your thoughts and additions in the comments} in no particular order:

• TV channels.
• meetings starting on time
• privacy
• feeling capable (i.e. knowing how to do simple things like how to set up my phone and have service, or how to buy cornstarch)
• everyone understanding my American-English
• ease of driving
• sidewalks
• free public parks
• being anonymous (i.e. not being stared at)
• convenience foods (i.e. not making everything from scratch, even cream of something soup to add to a casserole)
• one stop shopping
• consistent electricity and internet
• wearing shorts in public
• not having to do time zone math before I text a friend
• sleeping without a mosquito net

I'm sure there are many more.  I'm sure there are deeper ones I haven't processed yet.  But He is worth it all. this is on repeat.