Goodbyes suck...

There's one thing that I read consistently in other blogs - I didn't really give it lots of weight until recently.

Making the decision to adopt a semi-nomadic lifestyle has some downsides - principle among them are the need to say goodbye.  Some goodbyes are easier than others - we've had relatively few issues letting go of our stuff, and our house.  We won't miss yardwork or the Vancouver rain.

Other goodbyes are harder...like goodbyes with good friends and family.

In many ways, friends and families are like a good pair of shoes.  Some days you take them for granted but regardless you expect them to be there helping you out when you really need them.  You don't even realize how much you value them until they're not there.

We've been spending more time in the last few months with family and friends than we have in the past - noticeably more.  And it hasn't even been that painful.  Except when we realize that in many cases the goodbyes are different, and difficult and they suck.  They suck even though we're coming back, and we live in an era when communication globally is not just possible it's simple and nearly free.

People keep telling us how adventurous and brave we are, making the decision that we have but I think about those adventurous people who settled new lands throughout history, whether they were striking out thousands of years ago from Africa, travelling across the oceans from Scandinavia, trekking across land bridges from Eurasia, sailing across the oceans to settle the South Pacific atols, or more recently paying for passage to the new lands in North America.  They left everything behind, without the ability to ever see their families again.  They were the adventurous ones and I can't say I would be brave enough to make the choices they did.

Adventurous or not, goodbyes suck.  But we will be back, we welcome visitors and we will see everyone again.