How do you say goodbye?

I haven't posted on my blog for a while. We've been in the process of moving, and it's been hard. Much harder than I expected. We moved into our new home in Niamey March 30 (see Nancy's blog for photos), but it took a while to get things organized and arranged, and I haven't done much work since March 15. Though we're fairly well settled now, we're still trying to set up a routine, and it's complicated by the extreme heat of the HOT SEASON in the West African Sahel. We're in the hottest time of the year, and it's hard to think after about an hour of work because your brain is so fried.

How would you say goodbye to a place where you have lived for 16 years? I lived in Tera longer than anywhere else in my life. Now I've had to say to goodbye. Here are my top ten ways to say goodbye. Hope this resonates with someone.

10. Learn from the mistakes of the past, but don't dwell on the past and its failures.
9. Don't ignore your feelings. Be honest and open.
8. Remember the good times you had.
7. Don't rush the process of resettlement.
6. Visit old haunts in your old location before you leave.
5. Let God show you the next step in His time.
4. Bring familiar things to your new home to keep up the continuity.
3. Take mementos of the place you're leaving with you.
2. Take lots of pictures to remember the old place.

And the number one way tosay goodbye:
1. Take time to grieve.

That's all for now. I hope to be able to post more often in the weeks to come.