Saying Goodbye

Hello kind krafters!
  
            Hope you are all doing well and enjoying these first few weeks of April. I am writing this post to you from a coffee shop beside the ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay, BC as I wait for a boat to take me to Gambier Island. This morning I hoped on a plane and flew from Haida Gwaii to Vancouver, then took a sky train to downtown Vancouver, and a bus to this coffee shop. I said goodbye to the friends and places that had become my life for the past three and a half months, and headed out on a new adventure, this time for six months. It has been a tough day, saying goodbye and hello to things and people I have held dear for the past while, and starting a whole new life, all in the same day.
            In that spirit, I thought I’d dedicate this post to the process of saying goodbye. It’s a tough one, and there is by no means a single right answer for everyone. But here I’ll share some tips and tricks to help the process 

Tips for Saying Goodbye to a Place

• Take photos; of the amazing and the mundane. This will help to keep these places in your memories and your heart, and in the case of the mundane, help when your heart hurts and you want to think of times past. Plus, I’m sure you have a great story to share with family and friends along with them.
• Make a playlist to along with your adventures. Bring up memories and remember good times with musical aid!
• Visit one location/spot you really wanted to go to before leaving, check it off the list before heading out.
• BUT leave one or two things. This can be helpful if it is especially hard leaving a place, having one or two things you didn't do gives you a great reason to plan to go back and visit. 

Tips for Saying Goodbye to People

• Have a going away dinner. Potlucks are great for this; get together, prep some food together, eat together, and spend some quality time before heading out.
• Share contact information to make sure you stay in touch AND verbally communicate/vow that you will before leaving.
• Share mailing addresses; mail is a great and fun way to keep in touch.
• Don’t let it be a goodbye! This is a hard one for me. It’s a natural reaction to say goodbye, but also a deeply painful one. Especially with people who I find it hard leaving, I try to leave the parting of ways open, and vow to let it be a see you again soon, instead of a goodbye.
  

The mundane; my favorite sunny weekend afternoon activity on Haida Gwaii. 

I hope this helps all of you who may be currently, or in the near future dealing with some goodbyes. To those of you writing exams and finishing semesters, I wish you all the best of luck and send all the positive vibes your way.
As always, please let me know all of your tips for saying goodbye.
 
And remember,
Stay Kind,
Niki <3