Mr. Huang, I need one last ride to the airport

For years we have preempted our flights to the states by calling up an independent taxi driver and arranging a time for them to take us to the airport.  This time, though, will be the last time we ever call up our favorite driver Mr. Huang. After almost a decade in Asia, we are moving back to the states.

According to Managing Transitions, there are three stages of transition. Our family has gone through these stagesany times at many different points already. However, the transition we are just entering into is the largest we will walk through yet.  

How do you leave a place that has been home for years with no plans to return?  How do you say goodbye to people that you may never see again? How do you part with a culture, food, lifestyle, a continent that you might never come back to as a family?  How do I explain to my kids that the food they have grown up eating won't be available anymore, or that we won't be bumping into their friends at Church anymore?

The first stage in the transition cycle is called "Ending, Losing, and Letting Go", and it feels like this:

• Fear.
• Denial.
• Anger.
• Sadness.
• Disorientation.
• Frustration.
• Uncertainty.
• A sense of loss.

We haven't had to say goodbye to our dearest friends yet, we still have a few days before we board the plane, but we are already feeling all of these emotions.

With the scope of this transition the depth of sadness and feelings of loss are already very pronounced.  At this point the mere thought of the goodbyes we will say brings tears to both my wife's and my eyes. 

We are just days away and yet we find ourselves struggling to pack, or decide what we will eat for lunch. Disorientation feels like we are walking around in a world we don't recognize anymore. We are busy, but don't know what to do with ourselves. We want to enjoy food from our favorite restaurants one last time, but can't seem to find the energy to walk out the door.

So, in full disclosure, our family is stressed, tired and doesn't look like it normally does. Our request from you would be patience for us during this trying time. If we seem distant, it's because we are struggling to leave the only home we have ever known as a family. 

But we value you and need you. Our lack of ability to reach out doesn't mean we don't want you to. We know that isn't fair, but right now we can't offer much besides a bit of honesty.