This is not goodbye…
If you had said to me, just a few years ago, that today we would be in our last week here in Durban, I would have laughed at you. I would have laughed harder, if you had said we would be moving back to Cape Town. Yet here we are! These last couple of weeks have been very bittersweet. We’re so sad to leave, but at the same time, we’re so excited to go, and start this exciting new adventure!
This week we say goodbye to our beloved Durban. We say goodbye to the city we thought we’d live in forever. We say good bye to the home where we really grew up spiritually, as a couple and as individuals. We’ve walked a long road over the last 7-odd years we’ve lived here. Sometimes the road has been really difficult. Sometimes it’s been wining, and trying and testing. But we’ve held on. Sometimes the road has been fun and exciting. We’ve embraced every moment in this beautiful city, we’ve tried to experience it in it’s fullest – from walks on the promenade with our pup, markets, seeing the beautiful views from the Sky Car at Moses Mabhida, fun at uShaka Marine World and Mini Town (a Durban classic), Boxing Day test matches, and possibly our most favourite thing to do in Durban – going to watch The Sharks play rugby at Kings Park. These are just some of the things we are going to miss.
As for the people…well we have met some gems over the years! People who are friends forever, friends who are more like family, than just friends. We have met people who have been there for us through tough times. People who have stood next to us, holding us up, praying for us. We’ve met people who have celebrated the big things and the small things with us. People who have been excited for us, supported us and loved us. This is what we are going to miss most about this city – all the beautiful people we have met. You all know who you are. Thank you for your influence over our lives. Thank you for the special way each of you have impacted each of our lives. Thank you for loving us the way you have, for embracing us and supporting us and praying for us. We will miss you all!
When we first moved here, we didn’t know why exactly we had to be here. We just knew we had to. We knew this is where God wanted us to be. So we came. And when we came, we thought we’d put down roots here, start a family, grow old and retire here. Now we see that Durban was just a season for us – a chapter in our book. A chapter we will cherish forever, because it was during this chapter, that 2 became 3. Meeting Noah, becoming his adoptive mom and dad has, by far, been the biggest highlight of our time in Durban. It has been our greatest joy and our greatest learning curve navigating not just parenthood, but adoptive parenthood. It is a journey we have embraced, and loved most about being here.
As we plan to leave this week, we leave a piece of our hearts here. We will forever cherish this beautiful city, it holds so much more good than bad. Thank you, Durban, for what you have been and meant to our little family. We love this city! And we will be back!
*Feature image taken by the amazing Craig Mannheim from Unprecedented Pictures