Farewell to old friends

The below is an old email written to dear friends before their departure for foreign shores.

My dear friends,

In your last days here, I have unfortunately not been able to spend as much time with you all, as I had intended to - nor say all the things that I wanted to, due to my affliction with tonsilitis. Maybe it is all for the better - but I did not want to spare you and hence this short letter to express our thoughts as you depart in a few days for Australia.

What does one say when the time is nigh to bid adieu' to loved ones ? So many thoughts swirl around in our minds - memories of days past (almost 11 years here in Dubai and so many more back home) and of laughters shared - trials and tribulations borne together, and of course now the looming presence of the void that faces us tomorrow. The bonds of happiness are forged slowly over time, so slowly in fact that we scarcely heed them, till the day they are suddenly torn apart. In that interim, we take for granted the presence of loved ones around us, expecting the good times to last forever and keeping any thoughts of parting ways to our subconcious.

And the nagging question that keeps surfacing is - WHY ? Why do you have to go now ? Why are we not in a place that keeps us together - Why do our relationships have to suffer the turmoil of seperation yet again ? These very same questions can be seen, flitting as shadows, on the faces of our loved ones, revealing the grief suppressed, and the absences already felt, though the day for departing has yet to dawn.

The answer of course lies in the fact that each mans future is forged by the pressures exerted on him, and his response to the same. Every person is unique, in his wants and desires and in his responses to those stresses. Our characters have been shaped by such forces, and will give us strength to tide these times, till the cycle completes and we are all on the same soil again.
At the moment we feel as if our family has been torn asunder, not knowing how soon our paths shall cross again. I cannot even begin to imagine the anguish felt by our children, who have grown so close, and in whose companionship, we the parents drew comfort. Our minds were always at peace when we knew that they were with each other, a semi-independant cell, needing no supervision. Safe in the comfort of a kindred culture, similar dispositions and a common heritage. It is definitely a boon that, they do not as yet comprehend the concept of time too well, else their sorrow would have made ours the deeper still.

Anyway, one looks for comfort in thoughts of the tomorrows to come - of days in the future spent together "again" in a place filled with golden light, our children big and strong, and a road ahead that carries us together to infinity. The road to happiness is paved with sorrows and tribulations. Hard decisions are a fact of everymans life. One faces them with what courage one possesses, and strength is demanded of both, the ones departing and the ones staying back. You leave these shores as pioneers, forging a path that others may tread on. We shall eagerly await tidings from you - and your progress in the new land shall be followed with keen interest.
Go with God and our good thoughts and wishes for your prosperity and happiness.
So till we meet again, my Siblings, my Family, my Friends - we remain diminished but resolute, sad but happy, for in the words of the Bard "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow" !!