While preparing for the final packing day, we had to move the contents of our "liquor cabinet" because the Chinese antique would be making the trip via boat to the US. While transferring all the bottles, I was sad to discover a bottle of white wine I had purchased at a wine tasting this spring that would likely never be consumed by my husband. So, I drank some wine with my lunch on packing day. I had never done that before but an international move can provoke one to try all kinds of new things.
At about 4pm Thursday, the girls and I inspected the 20-foot shipping container that held the rest of our Singapore possessions. We only filled 12 feet of the container! Realistically, I'm not even sure where all that stuff will go in our Texas house so it's good we didn't fill the box. It finally hit me that we were really leaving. If all goes well with our sea container, it will arrive in the port of Houston and get transported to our house in mid-August.
Thursday night Brian and I went for foot massages at Feetness and enjoyed a final drink by the river. I will miss those carefree date nights.
For our last day on the island, I took the girls and Elizabeth's friend Katie to the Singapore Zoo for the afternoon. It was always one of my favorite places to go with the girls so it felt right to take one last outing before our departure. The girls each fed carrots to the giraffes and we all enjoyed our time there.
When we got home from the zoo, it was time for us to say goodbye to Joyce. The girls and I drove her to her new employer's condo (who is a friend of mine) and said our farewells. I expected it to be difficult for the girls to say goodbye to Joyce, especially for Emily, but I found it hard as well. She was such a good helper for our family and made our lives so easy while she worked for us.
Our family arrived at Changi Airport around midnight Friday night for our flight to South Africa. We knew that we were supposed to notify the government of our permanent departure from Singapore and Brian had asked his company about the protocol. They told Brian they had filed the paperwork and all we had to do was relinquish our dependent passes to the immigration people when we left.
Given our past experiences with the local office of Brian's company, we were not really surprised when the immigration people asked for a letter that we did not possess. They kept repeating that we should have some official letter stating that the girls and I were leaving the country for good. After scolding Brian repeatedly for failing to present that document, they finally gave us their blessing to leave. I had no idea it could be so difficult to exit a country.
We boarded our last Singapore Air flight and as our plane took off, I couldn't help but shed a few tears. Our great Asian adventure was officially over. And that felt so different than when we left Texas 3 1/2 years earlier. When we agreed to move to Singapore, we knew it was a temporary assignment. We never expected it to be permanent. It was the beginning of an exciting chapter for our family.
But leaving that little island felt like an ending. And as comfortable as life back in Texas may be, it will definitely lack that sense of adventure. As I've written many times before, I'm thankful our family was able to have the experience of living in Singapore for awhile. I will always hold a special place in my heart for that beautiful country.
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