Time to say goodbye

So Long, Farewell…

Being a seasonal village, Whistler has one major downfall. People leave. L

Some people are like me, intending to come for six months and then decide not to leave. Half of said people also end up being lifers here. Come for a season, stay for life. 

The rest move on from the bubble that is Whistler. Sometimes they head back home, other times it’s on to more adventures in far flung corners of the globe.  Regardless of which it is, it is inevitable that the time will come to say goodbye to all those people who have snuggled their way into your life.

Nobody likes goodbyes. They are horrible. I, especially, did not even come close to coping with the huge wave of farewells that have come crashing to the shores of Whistler in the last few weeks.  I was the emotional wreck you often see sniveling at the bus stop who you are completely embarrassed for. You really hope this person pulls themselves together, and for a moment you think they will, until they start a fresh batch of tears and you give up all hope that they will ever stop. Yup, that has been my life for at least 3 weeks now.

Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not really a crier. Some of my best friends at home haven’t seen me cry. So, it shocked me as much as everyone around me, when I completely broke down when the first of our friends left. Thomas Carr. He started it all. He opened the gates and I’m still struggling to close them! Probably because there is still more people to leave, but let’s not think about that!

Winnie the Pooh once said "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard"- and that is how I’m trying to look at all of this.  I’m also focusing on the fact that I now have friends across the globe that I can go and visit!

So, to celebrate the time spent with some of my favorite people I have compiled a list of some of the more golden moments.

1-      Meeting Lewis for the first time. Its 5.30am in Gatwick airport and I am very clearly struggling with my backpack. The true gentleman that he is, Lewis approaches, taps me on the shoulder and asks in his ever-so-polite Oxford accent ‘Hi, do you need a hand with that?’ From then on he was part of the fam. He is the perfect height and dimensions for an epic hug and really is a wee sweetheart.

2-      Meeting Alex about an hour after meeting Lewis. J Apparently he could hear my accent all the way across the departure lounge and figured I must be the Irish girl from the Whistler Facebook page. J

3-      Meeting my first ever friend in Whistler, Ashley MacKissack. In the Irish bar of all places.  Now my partner in crime for summer.

4-      Fam trip to Vancouver for the hockey. Such a great day at the start of the season. Although I’m sure Matt spent most of his day trying to explain hockey rules, I think we all enjoyed it. I fondly remember the sing along with Alex friend, Slow Loris, Matt and Melissa en route to Van. Good times. It also concluded with us arriving back to the first snow of the season. Cue snow gear on and snowball fight/snow angel making!

5-      Christmas day with the entire fam. A day I was dreading, having never been away from home for it before, but between an amazing dinner, secret Santa and plenty of red wine it was a great day. It also included a game of charades which produced some of the funniest reenactments and stories, in particular Brad’s portrayal of Melissa’s encounter another female. Enough said.

6-      2am disco to aqua with the flat mates. Totally random and spur of the moment. Don’t think I have ever danced as hard in my life!

7-      Our wine and cheese party. We should have known it would be far too sophisticated for the likes of us! It started out so well and quickly digressed into the consumption of copious amounts of wine and a very revealing game of ‘Never have I ever’. Which revealed stories that shocked and horrified, none of which will be shared outside the walls of flat 211!

8-      Fam ride days. Never a huge amount of actual riding done on these days but they were such a good laugh all the same. Some of the highlights included me completely face planting at symphony and taking Tom out on my way down.  Matt sliding on his backside the majority of the way down Peak to Creek and Alex getting his ass stuck in a tree-well and expecting me to pull him out. No chance mate…here, grab my pole.

9-      Skiing while totally pissed on St.Patricks Day. I was surprisingly much better at it, but damn was it cold!

10-   Visiting the Hemloft with both Brad and Lauren on separate occasions. Such a cool structure which is being taken down soon, so it was great to see it before it’s gone.

11-   Story telling time with Tom. The time most of us looked forward to each evening. When Tom would arrive home from the Four Seasons ski concierge to tell us all scandal of the rich and famous clients he had the joy of serving that day. Or even more enjoyable was Tom’s run down of the previous night’s antics after a big night on the tiles. Priceless!

12-   The infamous ‘Mojito Mondays.’ Where my love of the Minty, Lime and Rum beverage reached new and dizzying heights, and though I haven’t quite mastered the creation of this treat the taste of it will always take me to a happy place J

This is just a select few highlight of the season, and although many of these guys have foolishly left Whistler I genuinely hope to create many more memories with them. 

On a new and brighter note, summer is almost here in B.C and there is so much on the horizon.  A new house to move into with a fab trio of friends, trips to Vancouver, Seattle, Hawaii and God knows where else. There is also the arrival of the younger and even more mental Mullan sister. God Help Whistler for those two weeks! And who really knows what else the summer will hold?

So as sentimental as this post was (apologies) I guess it just reflects how great friendships can be formed anywhere in the world. Some of the aforementioned people have given me the best advise ever, which will forever be cherished and I wish them all the best in their respective journeys.