Loved ones, such as families, relatives and friends, truly make life happier and colorful. They are among the greatest blessings that don’t need any vibrant wraps because they themselves are enough to be grateful for. They simply make some days bright and other days brighter. What a joy it is to see and be with them whenever you miss them and to grow old with them too!
But you know, time flies and the world around shifts too. Everyone ages, and there are needs to fulfill and ambitions to pursue. Some of the people you dearly love have to leave home for another country to chase their dreams and to live a better life. They have to go far, far, far away to make these aspirations happen. Definitely, seeing your loved ones accomplishing a lot and succeeding makes you proud. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that you also feel blue because you can’t physically be with them anymore or as often as you have always been used to.
Of course, you can’t just stay sad about the news of your beloved relatives or chums flying abroad for good. To make the most out of the remaining days you can be together in the same country, make your moments matter! Even if it means you have to make them cry in a good way, then do so.
You may hate it when someone you’ve always been with has to live far from you soon, but in times like this, you just have to do your best for the best memories you can still make side by side. Here are 8 meaningful ways to bid farewell to loved ones moving to a new country!
1 – SET A DINNER WITH THEIR FAVORITE LOCAL FOOD.
It’s going to be hard to find all of your country’s local food in another country, especially the exact versions of them. Your precious loved ones will crave and miss them when they’re already in the foreign country they will be moving to.
To make their tummies and taste buds regret nothing, set a dinner with their favorite local food as the main dishes or as the general theme of the table! Order from their go-to restaurant, or cook for them! It’s going to be mouthwatering and touching at the same time.
Don’t forget to specially pack bring-home boxes for them as well. Even if they can’t take them on board, they can still have it as a meal before leaving for the airport at least.
They will tearfully miss these local meals for so long, but at least, they will remember this tasty dinner you prepared just for them!
2 – VISIT SIGNIFICANT PLACES TOGETHER.
Besides the delectable local food, favorite local destinations will be missed by these cherished loved ones.
The flower garden they drive to when they need fresh air, the amusement park where they first rode a thrilling roller coaster, their old pre-school building, the city’s mall that feels like home, the beaches where you celebrate your family’s birthday every year, the pet salon near the market and more. It would be tear-jerking for them to visit these significant places for the last time before they move abroad. Nevertheless, it’s going to be worthwhile to take a trip down memory lane.
Take photos together, and take solo pictures of them too. You never know if these places will still be the same when they come back after a long period of time, so the best time to see these places together is before your loved ones leave for a new home.
3 – CREATE AND COMPILE HANDWRITTEN LETTERS.
Give them a box or an envelope of handwritten letters made by you and other friends and relatives who are wishing them the best.
Sending a letter to them when they’re already abroad is not anymore a popular thing nowadays, especially because the Internet is present. Yet, letters still feel different and unique.
Handwritten letters are heartwarming classics! No fancy computerized font can top the effort of bare hands. Well, instead of sending them through manual mail, just let them have your letters in person before they leave.
For words you cannot completely and clearly convey through speaking, writing letters is the best. No doubt, they will love these for keeps so much! They can read them whenever they want or need reminders that they are treasured.
4 – MAKE A VIDEO PRESENTATION OF PRICELESS MEMORIES.
Take the memory weaving moment to the next level by making a video presentation of your priceless memories!
Gather and look for photos and video clips from your virtual drives and from your social media accounts. Ask other relatives and friends for the same, so you’ll have more. Add special occasions and remarkable milestones to the collection. Childhood photos must be there too if you have them!
If you don’t know a lot about video editing, request someone who’s skilled at it. Nonetheless, if you want to do it yourself, it’s the thought that counts most!
Ideally, to see their teary reactions, play this presentation at your farewell dinner for them. For a more surprising style, save it in a flash drive, and tell your soon-to-leave loved ones to watch it when they arrive at their new home abroad. The latter will make them cry, too, but harder because they’re far from you already. Awww.
5 – ALLOT TIME FOR A LIVE HEART-TO-HEART TALK.
Soon, you will only be talking with each other online. It’s still not the same as talking with each other face to face. There’s nothing that can match hearing each other’s voice and seeing each other’s face personally.
That’s why while you are still together for real, allot a time for a live heart-to-heart talk — not over the phone, not through text messaging, not through online communication applications. Hug each other while a thousand miles are not yet between you.
6 – WRAP A REMEMBRANCE FOR THEM.
Aside from the handwritten letters, a remembrance like a shirt, a cap, a pillow or a stuffed toy is a nice token before sending them off. If you customize your present for them, it would be extra meaningful!
7 – HELP THEM PACK THEIR THINGS.
The heaps of moving boxes that imply that there’s nothing stopping them from leaving the country won’t make you joyful. Yes, everyone knows. But instead of just being sad in one corner, why not help them pack their things?
Doing so is very meaningful, too, because you are helping to lessen the hassle for them, and because it just shows how you always have their backs even if their moving makes you cry ugly.
8 – DRIVE THEM TO THE PORT.
If packing their things isn’t heartbreaking enough for you who’s going to terribly miss them, then drive them to the port.
Kidding aside, this is very meaningful since it’s seriously the last moment you will see them before they move to a new home in a country far from you. There will be tears; don’t expect that there won’t be. It’s normal whether you don’t like it or still don’t like it.
The best part is that it’s a moment to remember that you, someone who loves them and whom they specially love, is the one who drives them to the airport or seaport before they enter a new chapter in life.
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SEE YOU SOON!
The cousins you have always played hopscotch and hide-and-seek with since you were little, the aunts and uncles who always bring in your favorite snacks, the nephews and nieces you love seeing giggle and run, the siblings you have a bickering but loving relationship with, the friends and neighbors who have always been supportive of you…
It’s absolutely a heartache to see them leave for another country because that means you can’t do anymore the fun things you often do together. That means you’ll just see and talk to each other virtually. Special celebrations and random days with them won’t be the same again.
Yes, it’s saddening, but if it’s for their own betterment and if it’s a long-time dream that they are now about to reach, then surely, you know that you are more than happy for them too.
For the weeks or days left before their flight to another country, make meaningful memories that you and your soon-to-leave loved ones won’t forget! It’s the best way to express your congratulations to them and to let them know how they will be missed.
Remember, you may be bidding farewell for now, yet goodbyes are temporary. You will see each other again soon, and when that time comes, you will be glad to talk about your wonderful memories over and over again.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Hitchens, a top-rate removals, storage and moving company in Australia. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
