Bittersweet

The past couple of weeks have been quite the whirlwind. My sister-in-law, Charley, visited from Sydney, Australia. She has been living there for the past 5 years and loves Oz to bits. She had not yet been to Boston and had not yet seen Matt's life in the US. It was great having her come visit and also taking on her first trips to Boston, the Cape, Martha's Vineyard and NYC. She is quite the city girl so NYC was definitely a highlight, but places which made it into "Jaws" were up on the list as well. Her friend Steph joined us for the first week here and for NY, but then it was just us three for the last week. She departed yesterday and it got me thinking about this new globe trotting era we are now in.

Charley is unquestionably content in her life in Sydney and I know that we all are very happy she has found a place she loves so much. Matt has chosen to live and spend the last 4 years in Massachusetts and now will always have a connection here because of our marriage. Matt's father and stepmother split their time between the UK and southern France. Their ambitions and their willingness to make life and family work no matter where they end up has really been eye opening and in many ways, inspiring to me. I think between the Coates traveling genes and the Duggan/Michalowski closeness, our life as a couple and a family will be filled with both adventure and lots of family fun.

Growing up in Boston with such a large family in such close proximity I never really thought about what it would be like to cope with loving and missing someone who is so far away. I understood the distance between states and miles, but countries and oceans was a totally new concept that I only really understood when Matt and I first went over to the UK for Christmas back in 2007. Never before did I appreciate what many families now deal with and that is the joys and heartaches that come from having a family who live on a global scale. As a part of any family you always want to be supportive of the dreams, desires and goals of each family member. I was definitely taught that in my own family, but the Coates family brought the scale of those dreams and support to much broader level.


In closing, it has become much more apparent to me through becoming more and more intertwined in my life as a Coates, the varying levels of goodbye that exist in being part of a family that, albeit small compared to Duggan standards, stretches over 3 continents. In the UK I find that people use the expression, "See you" alot when departing from a friend or loved one. I am liking this way of saying goodbye more and more. It's open ended. It doesn't require you to insert one of the, what can be very painful descriptive words that usually tacks onto the end of the phrase when leaving one you love. So for now Charley, "See you..." We love you.