Final Good-Bye

We said our final good-bye to the Noordhuis Family yesterday.  We met them at the playground in our village and let the kids play while Inge and I chatted.  When it was time to go the kids all gave hugs and were silly with each other which was nice to see.  I gave Inge a hug and squeeked out good-bye past the lump in my throat.  It is hard to say bye to friends here since it means that you are usually saying good-bye forever.  I hope though that Inge's next move or the move after that will bring her back to the States where we can reconnect.  Sofia seems okay with Lars leaving since she definitely sees it as temporary and when they are adults they can find each other again.  It is a great way to view it.  In the meantime she plans on writing lars regularly to keep in touch.  Here is the picture of all the kids playing at the playground.  They must have felt sympathetic to me becuase there was no complaint over the photo taking.