See You Again

One of our close and dear family friends are returning to Tokyo this Sunday. 

I have been, for the want of better emotional expression, sad. 

The Other Half comforted me by saying,"Don't be sad that it is over, be happy that it happened." He knows fully well this friendship is not over, it is just being physically split into 2 capital cities. 

Two years passed us by in a blink.

It had started with a friendly and genuine "Ohaiyo gozaimasu" one November morning in 2013. Distinctively Tokyo accented, very polite and pretty voice from a petite lady.

I turned my head and there she was - a beautiful Japanese lady wearing her baby boy, the handsomest and chubbiest bundle of joy straight out of a Hayao Miyazaki animated film!

Mrs. Yoshizawa thought I were a Japanese lady and was quickly apologetic when I responded with a foreign, inaccurate, clumsy reply of "Ohaiyo. Hi!" 

We exchanged bows that hot and humid morning at The Playschool. It was our year end open day with carnival for our little ones to enjoy.

Her husband had been posted to work in Kuala Lumpur and they had just enrolled An-chan into the same class as The Little Girl. 

We soon discovered that our 2 young ladies were born in the same year and same month, about 2 weeks apart. Our 2 young men were born in the same year about 3 months apart. What a close match!

In Mr. Yoshizawa's apt description of our children, "Same size, same energy level, same age!". He could not have been more precise!

Typical to the nature of Malaysian hospitality, we soon agreed on a play date/tea and an invitation was extended to them to visit us at The Flat as a welcome to Malaysia "party". 

The rest of our 24 months of living within the same community is now a pleasant juxtaposition of swimming lessons for the young ladies, play dates for the children, school run quick hellos and goodbyes, ballet classes, Gymboree classes for the young men and Isetan KLCC chance encounters. Our lives were lived in parallel, almost.

The farewell/birthday party last Sunday was especially extended for us to include a quick dinner at Avenue K. A new Nando's outlet had just opened and our party of 8 had a simple farewell dinner. The young ladies played and ate without their usual drama. The young men gobbled up their platter just like the way they do at The Playschool. It was pleasantly bittersweet. 

By the end of the evening, we had exchanged many sweet memories, laughter, bows and more bows. So many bows everyone else at Nando's thought we were truly Japanese! Photographs soon followed so that we could freeze those parting moments forever.

Dearest Yoshizawas,

Thank you for being such great family friends, Yoshizawas! May our paths cross again someday, in sha Allah! May your family grow and flourish forever more, in love, health, peace and vitality!

With lots of love,

The Hampshire Family 

P/S: God willing, we will come and visit you in Tokyo <3