Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

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Hellos and Goodbyes

The leaving.

It asks more of me now- this goodbye pierced heavier, and deeper.

This time, something happened that caught me off guard. I cried uncontrollably at the airport. I remembered the first time I left home for France.

I cried so hard I could barely board the plane. Once I was in my seat, before takeoff, a flight attendant came over and gently asked if I was all right, if I wanted to get off. I could not answer with words I simply shook my head no.

Forty years later. The arrivals and departures no longer travel alone. They carry everything
that came in between.

Comments

13 responses to “Hellos and Goodbyes”

  1. Diogenes

    Very moving post Corey. The last photo made me tear up. Safe travels!

    Reply
  2. TracyH

    Now I’m going to cry.

    Reply
  3. Leonie

    I’m feeling so sad for you Corey. Your hearts tugs in two directions. 🙏
    With love ♥️

    Reply
    1. Susanawee

      Leaving is never easy…I feel for you Corey…..so far away.

      Reply
  4. Ali

    Oh, Corey!

    Reply
  5. Texas Francophile

    Oh Corey i am so sad for you. This reminds me of my childhood. We lived in Venezuela and every summer my Mother and I would either stay over a month longer or arrive a month before my Daddy. When it was time to call the cab my Mother and Grandmother would be crying and my grandfather would be declaring it would be the last time we’d see him. Pretty upsetting for me as a kid. My Mother and i would just hug once we got seated. Never easy. Repeated each year. I would hug you if i could♥️

    Reply
  6. Jan

    Oh, Corey, I know this to well. Always had to make certain nothing went unsaid before I left one home for another. xoxo

    Reply
  7. BeckyFar

    Oh Corey, I can feel your pain. I am so sorry.

    Reply
  8. Carlaine

    I can only imagine the difficulty in hugging the matrarch & your beloved family goodbye. But you are each of you always in each others hearts and mind-No one can take that from you.

    Reply
  9. Judith Wagner

    I think you are weighing the facts of your mother’s age and possibly health issues. She looks to be quite upset in the second photo. As a devoted daughter, all of this is giving you pause as each visit could be the last to see your mother. But you have another family to return home to in France. You can only hope that your mother will be in the kitchen making cookies when you go to visit next year. Be strong Cory and find solace and strength in your God.

    Reply
  10. Annafromindiana

    The photo of you and your beautiful Mom brought tears to my eyes,, dear Corey. I can feel your heart-wrenching goodbyes in my own heart. Life —- holding the deep joys and sadnesses simultaneously……a sacred task.

    Reply
  11. Jeanne Caron

    I love hello’s much better I know the heart ache of parting

    Reply
  12. Pam

    A Mothers’s arms are hard to leave, as all the goings and comings over the years become harder the older we get………xoxo

    Reply

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