The 4 Rules Of Saying Goodbye

I’ve sat outside an airport or a train or bus station more times than I care to remember, crying my eyes out or feeling generally just like crap, because a loved one or a friend has just left. Over time I’ve developed a few habits to deal with leaving or being left while travelling.

#1 Make no promises

Never ever make any promises. I know you’d like to see your latest one-night-stand again after a good nights romp around the bedsheets (who wouldn’t), but if you’re not at all serious then a peck on the cheek and a big-bear hug will be enough. Should you actually meet up again, then that’s just great, but don’t make it harder than it should be for the two of you. Basically, anything apart from what you’ve had so far will be a bonus…

#2 Only say it once

Pretend that there is nothing unusual about you sitting in a coffee shop or a McDonalds at an airport and only one of you has a plane ticket out of the country. Just treat each other like you’ll be seeing each other the next day. This might seem like a bit of a lie (well, it is), but it will help with the transition. Never ever mention the word (or anything to do with it) starting with ‘good’ and ending with ‘bye’ just before it is actually time to say goodbye. It will only pull you in deeper. You’ll run out of things to say and it’ll just be unbearable. There will be tears. I promise you. Only say “GoodBye” when there is nothing left to say!

#3 Leave early

Continuing from the last point, you have to leave as early as humanly possible. Why people like to drag the inevitable out for as long as they can is just plainly beyond me. Maybe it’s a sado-masochist thing, who knows. You arrive at the airport 3 hours before the flight and the check-in lady just told you your flight has been delayed by three hours. Don’t make your relatives and friends sit around for ages waiting for your flight to be called up. After you checked your bags in, you go and check yourself in. Go clear security, let em take all your shampoo and shower gel bottles off you if they feel like it and get the latest John Grisham novel to read while waiting for your flight.

#4 Get drunk

Now that all the other points are out of the way, it’s time to get serious. Should you be the one that’s leaving then you’re in a bit of luck. On most long-haul flights you can still get booze for free, so get your tickets worth of alcohol down your throat. If you’re the one staying then you’ll have no choice but to pay for your own. Leaving, or being left, is never easy and it should be dealt with accordingly. Copious amounts of alcohlic beverages should dull your senses enough so that, after you have survived your hangover, you can get over your loss.

Of course, if you’re in love, then consider all of the above points as useless as Barack Obama getting the Nobel Peace Price minutes (it seemed like) after he became president…

How do you deal with saying goodbye while travelling?