Words of Wisdom

Youth is wasted on the young.

Sunday 27 April 2008

Farewell Until Next Time


Himself came to the rescue and took the Baby Angel to netball so I could go and see Mum and Dad off at the airport.

Here they are saying their last goodbyes. I was playing with the camera's exposure to see if I could compensate for the backlight but as a result I got movement and blur instead. What I need is a good high definition PAS. This fancy schmancy manual jobbie is just beyond me.

We had quite a crowd at the airport with another two families joining me to say goodbye to the 'olds'. It got me thinking about family and extended family and how lucky we are to have both. Growing up in the wilds of Australia, we didn't have our immediate family around us. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all lived back in the North East of England and so my parents forged new support groups, families with kids around about the same age. These families remain firm friends to this day as the parents all march onwards through their seventies, and in some cases eighties, and the kids dabble in middle age, trying desperately not to get our feet wet. Seeing our parents together somehow keeps us 'the kids'. Kindergarten Friend will know what I mean.

I did my usual weeping. "You must stop doing this!" urged Mum. "You cry when we arrive and cry when we leave..."

Apparently they'll be back before the end of the year although I think once they get back to the UK and see my sisters and their other grandchildren again, life will settle into another, different routine and the long, wearing trip back to this side of the planet will seem less palatable. After all, my niece and nephew deserve some Grandma and Grandad time. Lord knows the BA and Small Boy have benefited from it over here. Who but a (step) grandma has the patience to play endless games of 'Eye Spy' with you in the back seat of the car on a long(ish) drive and who but a grandad can force you to take golf lessons because its a 'valuable skill to have, best learned at a young age.' ??? :-)

As for me? Well, I'll miss having them around the corner (relatively) but I have to tell myself that we are nowhere near as isolated from each other as they were from their own parents in 1962 when we arrived here. In those days you had to book an international telephone call with an operator. Now we have video calls with skype.

Safe travels Mum and Dad. I'll speak to you when you make landfall in the Northern Hemisphere. Oh and your sheets are dry now Mum. I'll make the beds up ready for your return.

8 comments:

Amy Jo said...

I hate goodbyes. When I was little my grandparents lived in Florida and we only saw them about three times a year. I would sob like a hysterical little baby, even when I was 12! There are some reasons I'm glad we have some distance from our families, but there are some downfalls as well.

Anonymous said...

Fancy schmancy jobbie or point and shoot, this is one beautiful photo.

Sorry you're sad. :(

Colleen @AMadisonMom said...

The crying goodbyes are hereditary in my family. I do it... my mom does it... her dad does it. We're just a big sobbing mess whenever we leave each other.

Brittany said...

I love having my parents living close. I'm not sure what I would do if I lived in a different hemisphere than my parents. I love being able to pop in on my mom during the week or stop by my dad's work on my way home.

However, how wonderful for you to cherish every moment you share with your parents, because you don't get it all of the time. Maybe I take my parent's for granted.

kim said...

I hate it when my folks leave after spending several days with us - and they're only 2 hours away.

Unknown said...

Ahhh..((hugs)) - I cry every time I leave my family or they leave us, too...even though we are only across the US, not the world. It is so hard especially after such a nice visit!

Arizaphale said...

Glad to know I'm not the only cry baby on the block.....

Christina said...

I am so grateful that my parents and inlaws all live closeby. I don't think I could take the goodbyes!