The power of goodbyes

Goodbyes can be uncomfortable. Goodbyes can be sad. 

When we moved our family from Toronto, Canada to Belfast, Northern Ireland in June 2026, we spent a lot of time preparing our kids to say goodbye. We had 10 months, in fact, to prepare them that they would be saying goodbye to their school, their friends, their house, their rooms, their city and their country.

One of the questions I was most asked in the lead up to our move date was, “How are the kids handling it?”. They were fine but talking about it and what they could expect definitely helped. We also took a trip to Belfast over their March break, so they had a chance to see their future new country and city and visit some schools and houses.

Some goodbyes you get to plan and others, you don’t. Some goodbyes are final and others aren’t. Moving to a new country is not a final goodbye: people can visit, people can text or email and keep in communication. But even still, that final act of saying goodbye can still feel so final to many. But there’s no avoiding it, even though many may try. Acceptance is the easiest way to move through a goodbye. Because what is waiting on the other side? A new beginning.

For an unplanned goodbye, this may not be a welcome beginning. Why would you want things to change? You did not ask for change. The goodbye may sit with you for awhile. There’s nothing wrong with that. People get closure or gain acceptance in many different ways. Acceptance doesn't mean forgetting. For my kids, they texted and FaceTimed their friends. We sent postcards and care packages. They put up photos in their new rooms.

Whether we want it to our not, a new beginning has already started. Not that we need to forget anything or anyone we had to say goodbye to, the memories and the experiences will always be part of us. We're grateful for the time we had and the lessons we learned. 

But we’re also grateful for a new adventure and the opportunity to continue to grow and learn in this new beginning, which we would not have had, without first needing to say goodbye.

Stream Episode 3 now of The Opposite Side of the Road Podcast: The Goodbye Episode