Saying goodbyes

Goodbyes are tough. They always make me feel like I am leaving a part of me behind. But they are also good because they remind me of the wonderful people we have in our lives and thanks to technology staying in touch couldn't be easier.

We spent the last week or so saying goodbye to colleagues and friends. Everyone has been very supportive and enthusiastic about our move(s), which means a lot to us, but it's been sad nonetheless. We met some wonderful people here and it is hard to think we won't see them for a while. We are hoping we'll get visitors both in DC and once we get to our first country post.

Our friends from Jacobs had a cake for us last Wednesday and a potluck party on Thursday. My colleague Lolly said she tried to get the cake people at Publix to write Good Riddance on the cake but they wouldn't do it, so she had to settle for Good Luck. Another colleague, Liz, opened up her gorgeous early 1900s home by Bayshore to us for the party and everyone had a blast. The Jacobs team is pretty international and everyone brought a treat from their country, so the food was just delicious. We made kufteta, kebabcheta and Shopska salad. We also brought a large bottle of Bulgarian moonshine (rakia) to go with the salad and people had fun trying it. There were even a couple requests for more rakia and we complied the following day.

Our teams created these awesome fake magazine covers below for us as parting gifts. Apparently, they had clandestine emails going back and forth all day with copy for the cover blurbs and design and we had no clue. We absolutely love them and there will be a special spot for them in our new place. 

 

Friday was our last day at Jacobs, so we had our exit interviews and a little bit of paperwork to fill out. In the afternoon we said our final goodbyes there and left (with heavy hearts) for a happy hour with friends from outside Jacobs at Three Birds Tavern (formerly Limey's) by our house. It wasn't a huge party but we were delighted to see some friends we used to work with the St. Pete Times, Healthy Home and Voda. Our friend Shrimatee from the City of St. Pete, who we hadn't seen since Nia was an infant, also came. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Nia also had a few special guests present. One of her boyfriends, Mason was there with his Mommy and pet worm. The worm got a lot of attention and a few bruises. Kindergardeners can be rough on pets! Mr. D. and Jenn from Great Explorations (Nia's old school) also game to wish her well. 

Saturday night we went out to dinner with Joanna and Novak at St. Petersburg Nights, a Russian restaurant at St. Pete Beach. Sunday, we had yummy chili dinner with Edel and Kevin at their place also at St. Pete Beach. Dina, a good friend from my Catalina days came by the house today too. She brought some yummy muffins for breakfast and we had a nice time reminiscing about the good old times.

We loved seeing everyone and look forward to sharing our adventure electronically and through visits.

Now with our stuff packed, loaded and off to DC and we are off to Disney to say goodbye to The Mouse.