Saying Goodbye and Hello

  We love living on Kwaj but one of the things that makes it hard to think of this place as "home" is how much people come and go here.  Most folks sign contracts for one or two years and leave when their time is up.  Sure, some people get on the next plane back out as soon as they get here and some people stay for five, ten, or twenty years, but it's not the same as having the same neighbors for the whole time you live in a house and really getting to know them. 

Cherie and Monte (our neighbors and one of Sky's favorite persons in the world) moved back to America

So did Sky's BFF Payton

Our friend Kerri teaches in Germany now

Brendan (the weekend-saver and wookie-giver) is heading to Antarctica

And Anne leaves for Japan soon

  It's hard to say goodbye to good friends and we really miss them when they're gone.  The bright side of their living someplace else is that we can always go and see them.  And there are always new people showing up on island.  We're getting together tonight with two newer families on island that have children that are the same age as ours and I took some toys and banana bread to a family that just moved in up the alley over the weekend. 

  We're trying to make the best connections we can in the time we have.  You can never have too many friends and you never know when you'll meet someone that will be in your life long-term.