my son's first significant friendship / something tragic

A few days ago, I wrote a Facebook message to the mother of Declan's best friend from gan: "Declan was eager to show Kimi his new shirt today, then he told me after gan with some surprise, 'Kimi wasn't at gan today.' I don't think he's fully grasped the extent of their separation yet."

The previous day, to give her some time to pack and her husband more time at the office before their trip to Germany, my husband and I oversaw a playdate between Declan and their two older children: Kaya, who is six, and Kimi, who is three and in the same gan (daycare) as Declan. Declan and Kaya had a memorable time laying ambushes and swinging around sticks while pretending to be King David. As the playdate ended, Kaya called from the backseat of their dad's car as they drove past us: "Bye, Declan!" and Kimi yelled, "Love you, Declan!" "Love you too!" Declan yelled back.

Every time I went to pick Declan up from gan, he would be in the middle of something with Kimi. When I dressed him in the morning and prepped him to go out the door, Declan would want to hold one toy "to show Kimi."

It's starting to hit me, I think, that we're leaving. I've finally started setting down roots and found genuine community in this country with a strong clannish culture (which seems to be the case of this entire region, actually). And now, as I start to pack definitively, the roots are being ripped out bit by bit. I find myself morose, avoiding people's invitation to hang out because...what's the point? The real kicker is listening to Declan chatter on every now and then about how he's looking forward to Kimi coming back from the latter's family vacation. How they'll play together again when he returns. When my husband and I tried to prepare him for the transition, Declan said, "I will make friends at gan in Taiwan. Then I can play with Kimi in Taiwan, and Kimi in Haifa!" He tells me he likes his gan now, even though not everyone is his friend there.

Declan with his best friend in Israel. 

They have a fascination with action figures...

I wish we can stay. I have no idea what living in Hsinchu is going to be like, or if I'll actually make friends there without the typical local regard of me as someone slightly (or a lot) freakish. At least here I'm not expected to fit in. Tired.

And I hope this operation officially ends by the time we leave.