I hate goodbyes. But I’ve been doing a lot of them lately.
Today, Nicole & I said goodbye to our family. We said goodbye to the Kenet. We said goodbye to Albania. We said goodbye to a life we have come to love. We said goodbye to people we care deeply about.
But Nicole & I know that we will make our way back in the future. We don’t know when or for how long. But our family knows this too even though we never made any promises . They never asked if we would come.
They kept telling us when we come back for a visit…
When we come back their gate would be open to us.
When we come back we have to come have a coffee.
When we come back, we must come eat dinner with them.
When we come back, we must bring our husbands.
When we come back…when we come back…when we come back.
It was a bittersweet morning. Nicole & I left one life we had built to go back a life we haven’t been in for two years. This morning we left one family we love to to back to another family we love. This morning we left a pretty big chunk of our heart in Albania. But this isn’t goodbye Albania. You can’t get rid of us that easy. It’s a see you later.
Uhhh mirupafshim // uhh goodbye
shihemi me vone // see you later
Also a beautiful final post like Nicole’s, for which there are equal thanks. One of the amazing things about our world today is the greater connectivity, which made it possible for me to make a little peace in Albania tonight. To wit, my quick statistical study of a chess tournament held in Kukës near Kosovo in June should dispel any grumbling I heard about the surprise winner having cheated… Safe journey back in spirit as well as body.