Leaving Brasil

It never felt real. Like it was never actually happening. Not when we stopped buying groceries, and gave away everything in our pantry. Not when the movers showed up, or when they left, leaving nothing behind. Not when we attended our despidida (going away party.) Not as we said our last goodbyes, as we drove out of the condo for the last time, as we pulled up to GRU. Never. It never felt real, like we wouldn't be coming back. That's been the hard part for me. The living of two lives. Being a part of two worlds; having one foot in the US, and one in Brasil. 

In the weeks leading up to our last flight out of Brasil, we were busy. The boys kept to their school schedule. I kept to my art classes, and weekly lunch dates for sushi and yakkisoba. There wasn't much that was out of the ordinary, except that we were slowly going through and purging things we no longer needed, unhooking dishwashers (that deserves it's own post), giving away food and stuff, and untying the ties we had to Sao Paulo. 

We ate at our favorite restaurants, stocked up on Havaianas, and just kept moving forward toward a day that seemed forever away and just around the corner. 

The boys on the crossway between Shopping Morumbi and Marketplace Shopping.

Pao de Acucar. I wanted to remember the grocery stores, and forget them at the same time. 

Always playing. No matter the age, they played with everyone. 

The boys' last day of school. Bittersweet.

The Clube. SO many memories here. Clube Nights.

The night of our going away party came. I swore not to cry, but it always seemed to be right. there. The boys stayed for a bit, and then went to a friend's apartment with the babysitters (Piper and Will; I sure miss, Piper!)

All my favorite people were there (except Mindy) and it was just fun eating, drinking, and just hanging out one. last. time. I drank too much champagne, a few too many beer shots, and by the end of the night, having not yet cried, I totally lost it in the lobby. Thank goodness, Jen wasn't there to witness. She was one of the ones, I wasn't looking forward to saying good bye to. But lost it, I did, and basically locked myself in Megan's bathroom, and cried for a long time.

Mindy told me once that it was okay to be sad, because that just meant I had a lot of good memories here. And I do. As much as we complained, and grumbled, we made lots of great friends and had lots of good memories. Just looking at these pictures makes me teary.

I would love one last night with you ladies!

We left the next day, and had Anna not started crying, I might have made it without more tears, but you cry, I cry. It's how I work.

So, I guess this is goodbye, Sao Paulo. I miss your people. And a few other things, but mostly the people. What a crazy adventure that was. We are back in Arkansas, and there are moments that almost make my stomach knot and twist because we were there, and now we aren't. And it will hit me that we aren't going back, and our life is here, not there, and we WERE there and now it's starting to feel like a dream. It sounds nuts, and maybe you would have to live outside the US to understand. I'm happy we went. Happy we know what it's like to live outside, and come back, and appreciate the way life flows here.