Bye, bye... goodbye... my first big farewell

How hard can it be to say 'goodbye' to my friends? I'm only gone for a year!

My personal answer: Very hard!

This morning I met with my Mouse Group. We are seven girls who graduated together in 2010 and have stayed in touch since then. We often can't all make it to the meetings, but that means you get to see a different friend each time and have a variety of topics to talk about. But today we made it. Everyone had time and so we met for a shared breakfast.

During breakfast, my friends surprised me with a very personal farewell gift.

It's a little booklet in which each mouse has packed a personal message with wishes and kind words. Tina also crocheted a bracelet with a bead crocheted in by each friend. So I'm taking my friends on this big journey with me! For this blog, Lari is giving me the first draft of a self-painted picture that I want to upload here soon as a profile picture.

I can't even read the texts properly. Tears immediately come to my eyes. I'm so excited about the trip, but I will also miss my friends very much.

To Caro, Katha, Lari, Silvi, Sonja, and Tina: Thank you so much for the great time with you and the wonderful surprise!

So there it was: The first big goodbye with my friends four weeks before the trip. This sad feeling will definitely continue to haunt me in the coming weeks, as there will be farewells from my colleagues next week, farewells from other friends in the next few days, a meal with Julian and my family two days before we fly, and the farewell at the airport.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the trip. I know that these goodbyes are part of it. After all, I'm not saying 'See you tomorrow,' but I'll be gone for a little longer.

And so, I want to end my post today with a fitting quote from Winnie the Pooh:

'How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.'