The Saddest Month of the Year

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus

There is one thing that makes it easy for a friendship to start, common ground.  When you arrive to a new city and are trying to figure things out, and someone says "I know how you feel" or "me too, I also moved around a few times…" you just met a new friend.  

The one thing I've learned about the #expat community is that it is a very generous and caring one.  We all know what it is to be the new kid in town and not knowing where to start.  Helping each other out just comes naturally.  Sharing fun times, discovering your host city and keeping each other sane, create a special bond. 

As we are all miles away from  our  family, we become our own mismatched family, the one we chose.

Unfortunately, for an expat, when June comes around, before you start looking forward to your summer plans, you know you'll have to say goodbye to some of your friends.  June is the saddest month for an expat family.  There is no easy way about it, only to think that true friendships withstand time and distance and can pick up where they left off, no matter how long it's been.

To all my expat friends leaving this year, I wish you the best of luck and I really hope our paths cross again very soon.  I'll miss you but I'll take you forever with me, in my heart.

As usual, I'm scheduling visits with friends with whom we parted before and now just happen to be on the course of my summer vacation.  It gets easier with time...

Arrivederci, in Italian, means until we see each other again.  Just the word I was looking for.