Being gone for a few years really opens my eyes to the passage of time while I am back here visiting the states. People have died, gotten old, moved on, and it really is clear to see when you are away for big chunks of time like I was. I am planning on coming back to visit once every five months so that I can connect with family and friends more often and not lose touch. I have a local contractor friend who died while I was away and I will never get to talk with him again, which is really sad because we had an argument that I wanted to smooth out between us. He taught me a lot about the HVAC industry and how to repair heaters and air conditioners and I wanted to tell him how much I appreciate everything he did for me over the years, but I will never get to tell him anything now. I guess this teaches me a lesson to not hold grudges with people because you never know when they won’t be around anymore to make things better. Maybe I’ll go visit the local business, where my friend worked, to talk to the other employees about him and get some closure as to why he died so quickly before I had a chance to talk to him. I may buy some HEPA filters from them to support his company and workers instead of buying it online like I was planning on doing. Life has a way of teaching us the hard lessons I guess.