Sad Good Bye

One of the reasons I have had a hard time these past couple months is because our closest friends in Moshi moved away. Over a year ago, George was playing outside our house with Eli when he met Daniela, who was walking with her son, Flynn. George invited her in to meet me and from that point on, we all became friends. Our families were a good match for each other. Daniela and I became friends, Eli and Flynn became friends and Chris (Daniela's husband) and George became friends. We all enjoyed hanging out together. It had been a long time since I had a close friend. All of mine (with the exception of George's sister, Suzy, in Kenya) were back in the US. And the truth was... I was lonely. It's easy to feel lonely and secluded here. Our lives in Moshi got better when we met their family. They lived in our neighborhood, next to our old house, which was very close to our current house. So, it was easy for us to see each other. Daniela's friendship was a huge blessing to me. It made me feel normal, if that makes sense. I had someone to talk with and laugh with. We could confer about the kids, discussing their health and behavior. I could call them and ask if they had lettuce in their garden or any extra cilantro. One time, when we ran out of gas for our stove, Marli went down to cook our dinner at their house. I couldn't reach Daniela, but I knew she wouldn't mind. We often hung out in the evenings after work, sometimes staying for dinner if we didn't realize how late it had gotten. I thought, this is what it might be like if I was in the US, surrounded by people I know.

They became like family to us. George knew when he was out of town, Chris and Daniela were available to help me and Chris knew when he was out of town, we were there to support Daniela, day or night. This was not just in words, but in actions as I saw when my water broke while George was gone. I woke them up in the middle of the night, asking them to take Eli and they did, no questions asked. Even though this was Eli's first time away from us, I knew he would be ok because they loved him and he loved them. We were also blessed to meet various family members of theirs who came to visit... all as lovely as they are. When it came time for them to head back to Switzerland, we all were so sad. For two weeks after they left, I felt very down and melancholic. I just couldn't shake the sadness I felt. Since they left, I have met other people and made new friends, which has helped soften the blow, but no one will replace them. Eli was confused for a while after they left. He would ask to go to Flynn's house and I would have to explain again, with a heavy heart, that they moved away and we couldn't see them. Now he mostly understands and talks about things he remembers about them. Like "Mama Flynn said ...." or "this is from "Papa Chris" or "Flynn would like this..." They are amazing people and we were so fortunate they moved into our neighborhood and became our friends. We will keep in touch and hopefully see each other again. Until then, we will cherish the memories of the time we had with them in Moshi.