Three months today we'll be saying goodbye to Istanbul as home - we'll be putting our furniture and possessions in storage and when we come back we will go immediately to a new city to live.
Three months today we'll be on our way back to see family and friends. J and S will get to spend time with grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins (most of whom haven't met S).
Three months today we'll have said goodbye to our friends here, who have been like family in many ways. J will have said goodbye to his gang of friends who all live very close to us and who he sees multiple times a week.
Three months today we'll depart from our host country and arrive in our passport country. We're excited about spending time in the countryside and by the sea, in L's and my 'home country'. For J and S, they'll leave the only place they know of as home.
Three months today we get to go back to the UK and eat fish and chips, sausage sandwiches and Indian takeaway. But we won't be able to buy açma or poğaca or take advantage of the summer peaches, melons and tomatoes that are produced here.
We have a quarter of a year left in Istanbul and we want to make the most of that time and use our last few months well. At the same time, the changes that are coming are starting to loom in our minds (or mine at least). The emotions surrounding our leaving Istanbul, going back to the UK for a couple of months then moving to a new city are already a jumble, and that's inevitable I think. This is the reality of living in another country. There are going to be a mixture of emotions and that's okay. We can be sad about leaving the city, home and friends where we've lived for the last couple of years at the same time as looking forward to our time in the UK and our move to a different city.
If you've ever seen it, these emotions are summed up perfectly in the Pixar film Inside Out. The film features five characters, each a different emotion, who live inside the mind of a girl called Riley and the film follows what happens as Riley moves across the country. It's going to be required viewing for my Third Culture Kid boys when they're a little older. I won't spoil the film - because if you haven't watched it, I really recommend it. But one of the reasons I loved the film was because it showed that happiness and sadness are not opposites of each other. Each has an important role to play. And so we're going to embrace all the emotions of the next few months.
And if all our emotions get the better of us at any point, there is always going to be a relevant quote from Inside Out:
"Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life's problems."
"This is crazy, this is crazy... No, Joy, be positive... I am POSITIVE this is crazy!"
"Oh no! These Facts and Opinions look so similar!... Don't worry about it. Happens all the time."
"On a scale of one to ten, I give this day an "F"."
"Oh, we're in a sadness spiral!"
