An ode to my friend

To my dearest neighbor (ex-neighbor as of today) and friend,

I will always remember...

- the Games Nites we used to have b.c (before children), where we played board games/cards and snacked/chatted till late into the nite

- the yummy steamboat dinners together, leisurely ones b.c, not quite so leisurely after children but equally enjoyable

- the look on your face the 1st time you told me you were pregnant with Kirsten. I still remember it was in my living room and 1 mth old Terelle was fast asleep on the floor

- the holiday we had together to Langkawi. (Despite the not so ideal accomodation, we still managed to have fun! Remember the yummy Dai Look Mee dinner and seafood lunch n cheering on the guys during their go kart race?)

- our traditional xmas gift exchanges and little xmas dinner parties together

- how you managed to capture the bird that flew into my room with the wastepaper basket. You with your blooming tummy, with Kirsten inside and me with a 3 mth old Terelle fast asleep on my bed. Remember we were wondering how on earth we could let it free without it flying back into the house? Finally we threw it out into the corridor and quickly slammed my front door...haha...makes me laugh to think about it again...

- our New Year countdowns and "party" in the corridor, where we drank sparkling grape juice and ate "kwa chee"

- our endless chats about everything under the sun, especially the kids and our forever errant hubbies :)

- your support when Ryan was away and Terelle was very ill and had to go to the hospital. Will also always be grateful to Ray for sending us there even though it was late at night.

- having to borrow your thermometer whenever my kids were having a fever cos my lousy, screwed up thermometer always gave me wonky readings

- our dinners together whenever any of our hubbys were away on biz trips

- our shopping/makan sessions when the girls were in school and later, our shopping/makan sessions with the boys in tow

- the joy our girls had whenever they played together, be it in either of our houses, in the corridor, at the playground or in the pool or anywhere else we took them. As long as they were together, they enjoyed each other's company

- how we satisfied our spicy food cravings together by eating mee sian and nasi briyani when we were having the boys

- our bak kut teh pig out session, pity we didnt have more...

- your lovely homemade bread and the mouth watering smell that always came from your flat when you were baking it

- your generiosity, warmth and kindness and that you guys were the best neighbors we could ever ask for.

So its goodbye for now, my dear friend. 5 years have gone by in a flash, its the end of an era for us. As i write this, my heart is heavy and im feeling sniffy as i watch the movers at your place and the corridor being filled with your stuff. It just makes everything so final.

I wish you all the best as you move on to your new home, forge new friendships and make new memories. I will always hold what we shared close to my heart. I will definitely miss your reassuring presence just next door and the knowledge that i can always count on you.

Just promise me to meet up often ok? I still hope our kids can grow up together and become fast friends just like us.

Bye for now and God bless all of you where ever you may go.