Bohemian Rhapsodizing: Moving Season

Moving season (ˈmo͞oviNG sēzən)

noun

The two months of the year between school ending for the summer and beginning again in the fall where expatriates pack up their worldly belongings and head off to their next posting, or are repatriated. See also: summer vacation
A time of year that will tug at your heartstrings as you say goodbye to many a dear friend
The season preceded by Goodbye Party season and followed by Greeting New Friends season
One of the harder parts of being an expat, at any age

Moving on and making new friends is difficult enough but having to do it every few years can really take it's toll. You unpack your boxes, enroll your kids in school, navigate the making of new friends (theirs and yours) and settle in for the duration of your stay. You cultivate your friendships over the course of that first year, and then all of a sudden, moving season rolls around and it starts all over again. The boxes start showing up, and the moving trucks are being loaded and you are being invited to going away party's, both for your friends and for your kids friends. Maybe this time you are the one staying behind, but that doesn't make it any easier. Sure, you don't have the stress of having to start all over again, but you also don't have the excitement that a new location brings. And you are now down a few people in your support system. Sure, you have exchanged skype names and email addresses, phone numbers and snail mail addresses so you can keep in touch , but it still won't be the same. How could it be? You probably don't even live in the same country as your friend any longer, much less the same time zone. And life just gets in the way...

We are all once again saying goodbye to at least one good friend this year, and many more acquaintances. But as much as it hurts to say goodbye, my girls keep astounding me with their resilience. They both have expressed their sadness at saying so long to good friends, but they have also told me how much they are looking forward to the new friends that will join them in their classes next year. Do I worry that the girls are losing out on something by having to say hello and goodbye so many times in their young lives? Do I worry at the depth of their friendships because of the length of them? Yes, of course I do. But I also think that they have learned some very valuable lessons. They have learned that because time is not on their side, they make friends fast and furiously. And they have learned not to look to far ahead to the day that they will separate and have to start over again. They just love - deeply and in the moment. Something we could all benefit from.

So, while we said goodbye to friends we wish we didn't have to, we also wish them the best. We hope they settle in quickly, and make great friends, and keep in touch. Yeah, that last part...most of all we hope they keep in touch- that means you Michele.