Saying goodbye is always sad

Who is sadder when you say goodbye? The one who's leaving or the one who's staying?
This is a sample of the more philosophical questions on my mind. Nos very deep as you can see.

A friend of ours came to stay with us for a few days before going to live in Brazil for good. She's Brazilian and she and "the husband" known each other since they were teens; they met in a lovely village by the sea in the south of Brazil where both their parents owned summer flats. They lost touch with each other and by total chance met again in Bristol during the 90's. I meet her and her late husband when I was pregnant with P. and we all became friends.
Tim, her husband, was a genial and lovely Welshman with a wicked sense of humour. In a sense, he's the first blogger I knew because when he felt ill, he used to keep all his friends updated about his fight against leukemia using e-mail. His very last e-mail was the saddest thing in the world, because it was still all filled with hope, and he sadly passed away a few hours after that. That was around 5 years ago.
Miriam is the bravest person I know and she's been an inspiration for me because of the way she faced adversity and overcome with enormous dignity what was a hard blow in her life.

She's been talking a lot during the past years about what to do with her life. She's like me in that we both need new challenges and goals. (I think that it can also be said about Deb B. too). She sold her house in Bristol around the same time we sold ours but she wasn't sure about what do to next. Finally last month, she decided to go to Brazil to be closer to her mum and siblings.
That's a big move and I can totally understand what a big deal this is; she's being in Bristol for the past 18 years and most of her friends are there, plus a lovely boyfriend. She doesn't have children but has two lovely Bichon Frise doggies that we used to dog-sit when she went on holidays.

So, she and her doggies stayed with us for a few days and it was great to have them around but also it was really sad because although we do love Brazil is very unlikely that we'll go there often. We really don't know if we see each other again, although we do hope so. In any case we'll keep in touch by e-mail and I know she reads this blog from time to time. I did try to encourage her to write her own blog, so we can follow her experiences in Porto Alegre (a city called Happy Port can only be a great place to be, don't you think?). She's planning to buy a flat overlooking the river and maybe a country club cottage for weekends. British pounds can go a long way in Brazil these days.

I took her to the airport just yesterday and it was very sad to see her going. Very selfish, I know, because we'll miss her a lot and I will also miss Pippa & Poppy, her dogs.

It's sad lo leave a place you loved but it's also sad to stay and see a friend going away.
I wish Miriam all the best in her new life in Brazil and do please let's keep in touch.