Gonna miss my babies!

The beginning of  many hard "goodbyes" is here for those of us nearing the end of our 2 years of basic sciences in Grenada. For Nick, this island has been his home for nearly 2 full years and for me, nearly a year and a half. Over the past month there have been so many moments where both Nick and I have found ourselves being extra quiet and simply taking in every single moment- the good and the bad, taking extra time to stop and enjoy the sunsets, bounce around on the bumpy bus rides, and just enjoy all aspects of the life we have enjoyed for the past couple of years. For me, I mostly cherished my time at Limes extra. I squeezed the kids a little tighter, held the little ones a little longer, embraced their sweaty hugs a little more, endured extra "platting" of my hair, and cherished the ever resounding "miss" "miss" calls and the constant tug on my arms, legs, or really any body part they can reach, in an attempt to get attention, a little more patiently.  I will miss all of it.

Last week marked the end of Limes this term and thus for several of us, the last Limes class for us during our time here in Grenada. As our final week approached I found myself thinking about it more and more, and then the more I would think about it- the more I would try not to think about it- so the more I would think about not thinking about it. Ugh.

I don't like good-byes, but I especially wasn't looking forward to saying good-bye to so many sweet children who have touched my lives in so many ways. My life will never be the same due to each and every one of them.

 

Our last day was chaotic and crazy, but even with all of that, it was clear that several of the children- our littles included, knew what the day meant. There were a lot of extra hugs, kisses, and snuggles. My heart broke a little extra each time one of the kids approached me and asked "miss, you comin' back?" There were countless special moments over the last several days at Limes, but 2 moments that I will never forget came from sweet moments with Jivvy and Jada.

JIVVY moment <3

On Wednesday when the talk of who is returning and who isn't really picked up, Jivvy  grabbed my face in her little hands and said:   

"Miss Lindsey, you can go home for the summah... but you have

to come back."
I about died. And that alone pretty much had me convinced I would just stay in Grenada and live in a tent on the Limes field. She is such a sweet girl, who has gives the best hugs, has the most precious giggle, can sulk and pout like no one else in the entire world, and has each one of us completely wrapped her precious little finger! 

 

JADA moment <3

My moment with Jada came on Thursday. I wore the locket that I often wear and that Jada loves to open and play with. As soon as I got there she ran to give me a hug and immediately demanded  "miss open dis." I did as I was told and then the sweetest thing in the entire world happened. Jada took my locket and kissed the inside a couple times then quickly closed it before looking at me and saying "you have my kisses forever."

I die.  Seriously, I'm not sure I've ever heard something so precious in my entire life. She did this multiple more times throughout the day and each time I had to fight back the tears because it was just far too incredibly sweet. I'll still see this sweet girl one more time on Tuesday, but I still haven't quite figured out how I am going to say goodbye for good yet. She's my baby!!!!