Boarding house "not far away but already missed"

Ms. Loan is from Gia Lai , married to Phu Yen, and has lived in the same apartment complex as my family since her family moved from Gia Lai. After working for a few years, her husband unfortunately passed away early. After much deliberation, she still chose to stay in the apartment complex instead of returning to her hometown.

After nearly 10 years living in Phu Yen and 20 years working as a preschool teacher, this May, she decided to bring her little daughter to Ho Chi Minh City with her younger brother to take care of her older son who is in college. She said that when she first came to Phu Yen, and then her husband passed away, what helped her overcome the difficult time was the affection of the sisters in the apartment complex. However, her current life and work are difficult, she wants to return to be close to her family.

Next to my house is the room of a young couple from Ha Tinh . The husband is a soldier, so he goes to school and works all year round. When they moved in, their baby was not yet a year old. Even though the family moved in later, we were able to get through the difficult and stressful days of COVID-19 together. Later, the husband often said: "You are always on the go, your wife is in a strange land, the child is still young, luckily with you guys, I can work with peace of mind."

In the collective housing area, the neighborhood spirit is clearly shown through small but meaningful actions. When someone’s family has something to do, the whole area joins in to help. From looking after the house, taking care of the children to borrowing money, everyone is ready to support each other. Occasionally on weekends and holidays, the whole neighborhood gathers around the charcoal stove, making banh xeo together. Each person has a hand, some pour the cake, some pound the fish sauce, some prepare the raw vegetables. The sizzling sound of the cake batter on the hot pan, the fragrant smell of shrimp, meat, and bean sprouts spread throughout the collective housing area.

For the children, the apartment complex is not only a place to live but also a place to grow up and mature because most of them came here before they were a year old. They grew up together, played together, and studied together.

After many years of living together, facing many changes, some families decided to move away. Some returned to their hometowns, some made a living elsewhere, and some bought new houses after many years of saving. Even though they had not yet parted, everyone was still reluctant to part, making plans to have a big party, taking lots of photos to record memories because in the future, they would be far away and difficult to meet.

No matter where we go, we still miss the old rooms, the old courtyards, the old faces and all the happy and sad feelings we had together. We miss them so much that we miss them even before we can say goodbye!

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/hon-nhan-gia-dinh/202504/xom-tro-chua-xa-da-nho-38f39eb/