I can't believe it is 2012. I leave for the USA in 21 days. Since Christmas the days have slipped by so quickly. I have one suitcase pulled out of storage and I'm starting to do a pre-packing cleanse of my belongings. Timing is tricky because the weeks are very busy but I don't want to start packing too soon. In some ways, it helps to remind me that, yes, I'm leaving soon and I need to prepare for some goodbyes.
Yesterday was a goodbye day. It was a bit sad but also a beautiful chance to reflect on relationships.
Before the goodbyes started, I went to a workshop, taught by two friends of mine. Due to schedules and timing, they agreed to share an afternoon presentation, even though their topics were vastly different. (One spoke on the voice of women in history and the other on popular conspiracy theories!) Both were very interesting. In the evening, about 15 of us reconvined at ASK, an Italian chain restaurant. My one friend who gave the lecture is leaving the UK tomorrow morning after completing a PhD here in London. She gave a beautiful speech as we had our after dinner coffee and dessert. She has a beautiful, gentle voice with a slight Russian accent. She brought tears to my eyes as she thanked us all for the memories and for being her family away from family.
After our group began to part ways, four of us girls weren't quite ready for the night to end. We piled into one car and went to the nearest flat to continue the conversation and the memory making. In light of the sad goodbye and realizing how much this group has changed in the last three years, I think we all needed to be cheered up. We put on some Middle Eastern and African music and started to dance! Through our various jobs and cultural backgrounds, we all have bits of dances that we've learned and we just laughed and danced for the fun of it and taught each other what we knew. It wasn't too late at night, but hopefully we didn't disturb the neighbors in the flat below. In some of these London flats, your upstairs neighbors can sound like a herd of wildebeast when they are merely walking to the kitchen for a glass of water. When our energy started to lag, we settled onto furniture and floor to continue conversation. Various names were woven into our talk, of friends who have come and gone from London. After being here three years, I was the newest of the four women talking, and yet I know that even for myself, many friends have left London and new ones arrived. Many of our circle come to London for studies, and once a degree is completed, they travel back to their corner of the world. It would be difficult to name at least 20 countries that people have moved back to from this group. All things considered, the four of us in that room represented four different countries.
We started to talk a little bit about a "leaving-do" for me (goodbye party). It will be bittersweet to say my farewells. I don't dread goodbyes. They are part of life, particularly when one likes to travel. The sadness is there, but at the same time, life is more about the present and the future than the past.
In the true spirit of moving forward, I need to stop writing and start cleaning. A woman is hoping to come by to view my room today, in hopes of renting it once I move out. Laura told me the other day, "Anyone moving in will have some awfully big shoes to fill." I laughed and told her, "But I only wear a size 4!" I'm really praying that whoever moves into my bedroom will be a good fit for Laura and Joanne. This house has been a blessing to me in the year I've been here, and I hope it will be for the next lady.
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