Saturday, August 8, 2009

Four People


Yesterday afternoon at the airport we said our departure words to four of the best people we know as they headed back to their home in Istanbul after three weeks here with us and with our children and grandchildren. The words were not good-byes or farewells -- though our hope always is that they will “fare well” in their travels and in their daily doings, both of those terms carry too much feeling of finality for me to use them comfortably. I might prefer “Au revoir” or “Adieu”, but neither is a term that sits easily, and “See you” or “Görüşürüz” are just too casual for this occasion. It was a parting, a leave-taking, the beginning of a time away from each other until we see them again, either here or there, when we can greet them again and resume the happiness of the times we spend together. And our words were the words for people you truly care about and truly wish they did not have to leave

These four people are K&A, the parents, and their three-year old twins, A&Ö, and they were heading off on a 15-hour stint in the zone of air travel to get from Halifax to Istanbul, from our home to their home. Our place this morning is quiet. We were woken by the sun in our window rather than by the voice of a twin initiating his morning conversation. There is no more Thomas the Train layout in the living room and no “white window car”, the big Buick SUV they rented, sitting in the driveway. There is in our house the absence of their presence.

There are many gifts and benefits from our five years in Istanbul, which was a wonderfully life-changing period for us, but the best and most significant was our meeting and coming to know these four people there. K., who is Turkish, is about the closest colleague I have ever had and a truly excellent friend, one of those rare people you are fortunate to encounter and to come to know. His wife, A., who is American, is a truly gifted teacher and parent and a privilege to have as both a colleague and friend. And their boys, A and Ö, whom we have known practically since their conception, are now fluently bilingual and wonderful young beings, our good friends, able and inquisitive and truly loving. These four people are worth knowing and they are missed.

They have visited, and they have returned as they should to their own lives in Istanbul. They are there now and they should be sleeping. “Fare thee well”, I say to them -- we are thinking of them as we explore the now empty spaces of our house, resume some of the patterns of our ordinary life, and speculate on when we will next see them and hang out together again. They are four people who matter.

2 comments:

  1. aaaaawww, Rog, what's with the tear jerkers? =) What a lovely blog entry, it really meant a lot to us (and made us tear up). Looking forward to next time.

    A

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