Bidding farewell to Chile.
Moving from one country to the other with two young kids may sound like a daunting experience. We had worries about how the kids and we would cope. How would we adapt to the change in lifestyle from living the suburban life to living in the city? Taking the kids out of school they loved after just three months in. Nikhil and I had our share of doubts if it was the right decision to uproot our family and move. We had moving out of Chile on our minds for several reasons, but we couldn’t figure out where next. So, when this opportunity came knocking at our door right around that time, we had to consider it. We had built our life in Chile, which we imagined would be our home for the foreseeable future. It was a hard decision to make, one that would impact all our lives. We made a list of the pros and cons and played out different scenarios. We had a week to decide. After much thought and many brainstorming sessions, we asked ourselves one question…how would we feel if we didn't move and didn’t embrace the new opportunity...we're glad we didn’t have to find out. We sold everything, packed the 6 years of our life in suitcases, and took the plunge...WE MOVED!
What moving across the world looks like!
We had four months since we said yes, to sort out our things, sell, pack, find renters, and get our paperwork in place. One of the challenges we faced was handling the intense emotions of the kids. They were not ecstatic with the decision...they cried, we cried, and we had several nights where we all cramped up in one bed and cuddled together and spent as much time as we could cherishing our last days there. We bootstrapped, got our things in order, and went crazy handling it all.
A month into our preps, I got the news that I had to undergo surgery. A month and a half of bed rest in the midst of it all added to my anxiety and worry. Nikhil ran the show solo for the first couple of weeks and did the heavy lifting. He was amazing! It made me fall in love with him all over again!
Fast forward to the end of June, we were living in an empty house, packing our bags for one last trip before the big move. We checked off my bucket list destination, Peru! The trip had been canceled thrice over the years and we knew we had to do it before we left. All I can say, it was magical. More on that later!
Two weeks before the move, Ethan and Mia turned five. We had a down-low celebration. We started the day at a gaming arcade, gave them their favorite lunch in the afternoon, and ended the day by taking them to the recently released Paw Patrol movie. We had such fun!
24 hours before our flight to Madrid, we were still doing a last-minute shuffle of our bags. We were expecting people to come to collect the things they bought, we had friends visiting to say the final goodbye, the house was a mess and Ethan and Mia had taken ill. After putting the kids to bed, Nikhil and I sat up all night, winding things down. Luckily, we had our closest friends cum neighbors who came over with snacks and tea for us and stayed up till 2 am helping us with whatever was needed. Grateful for these relationships. We were strangers when we met, didn't speak the same language, and came from different cultures over the years we only grew closer. We were going to miss each other...we knew it.
An hour before leaving, with barely any sleep we were there saying our final goodbyes to the people who became family over the years. It was harder than we imagined…we lost track of time. The kids were playing with all their friends till we could leave. The friends who they met when they were still in diapers, learned to walk with, cycle with and had movie nights and countless memories with. Nikhil and I were in the house giving one last check when my neighbor entered and told us it was time to go. Nikhil and I locked eyes, and reality hit us...we were finally leaving. Both of us looked around the house, and instinctively both of us kissed the palm of our hand and touched the wall next to us...as tears rolled down…"Goodbye, home"....we hugged each other in silence. We were leaving, not knowing when we’d be back, if we’d ever live in our house again, and if it would ever be the same. Gathering up our emotions we held hands, called Ethan and Mia, and told them it was time to go. They ran across the living room, gave a quick glimpse at the backyard, and came back running to us while screaming “Bye, house!” We stepped out of the house, and closed the door behind us. We gave each other a tight hug. Just then Ethan says, "Goodbye house, goodbye plants, goodbye rocks."
The drive to the airport seemed longer than usual. Mia and Ethan were quiet on the entire drive which is unlike them. They didn't talk apart from showing us hand gestures when I tried to make conversation with them. I let them be, they needed the space to feel their emotions too. As we drove through the highway, reading the sign that said Airport, I remembered the first time Nikhil and I came to Chile…it was our first country as ex-pats…we had just gotten married…we were in our early twenties and were excited to begin our lives together…It felt like yesterday.
Chile, you gave us our family, our first home, friends, and endless memories. You will always be home. You will always have a special place in our hearts!
