Leaving but not closing the door

It is so hard to say goodbye. I personally hate goodbyes so much.

We have been so fortunate to form many great friendships with families we met from our kids' school or other means and it is very difficult to squeeze in a dinner or lunch for all of them. Sorry to those we didn't get to say a proper goodbye. I hope you understand.

So many people to say thanks to and please stay in touch. You know who you all are.

Likewise, I learned so much from a vast number people at work, either professionally or in general conversation. Even in the hardest of times, there was something to learn - this was and is something I would love to inspire in the people I teach. If we spent more time admiring the differences and learning from each other for the benefit of others, instead of comparing and evaluating, we would live in an even more amazing place. Comparing often leads to complaints. Complaints, in my mind, are a royal waste of time unless they lead to a justifiable improvement in someone's situation.

We do not know where we will be in the future. Such is the predicament of any international relationship. Unfortunately, one side of the family is always going to miss out and it is very hard to keep both sides content with this reality. We love both countries (and of course families!) very much - Australia and Japan - and are extremely fortunate to be able to have a foot in both. There is not one day when we don't acknowledge and remind our kids of this fact. Eventually as they become more cognitively aware of the world around them, we hope they will also come to this realisation. We're sure they will.