I spent the first chunk of my life as a military brat. But let me preempt you before you ask if I moved a lot. I didn’t. My dad was oddly stationed at the same base for almost 10 years and then he retired. So no, we didn’t move much. We didn’t really move at all.
Recently someone said oh so unlike other military kids, your life was pretty stable then. I hardly think that a new best classmate each year counts as stable. You see while I might not have moved, my friends did. The twins, the kid with Pappy dog next door, my awesome best friend from 2nd grade, Tina from across the street, all the kids who’s names I’ve forgotten and then even Davita moved away. In the end, while I stayed in the same place, my friends changed constantly.
Once I said this outloud I realized what had been so obvious all these years. It clearly had a huge impact on who I am and how I interact with people, and what I expect from friendships even. To me friends are people I have a good time with, hang out with, love and live for, you know while they’re there. Once they’re gone I instinctively find their replacement. I don’t mean to. It just happens. This is not to say that I don’t have amazing friendships that have lasted over the years. This is to say that I’m okay with making new friends and have gotten pretty decent at it. You know, survival instinct and what have you.
Tonight I ended up at the Blogher holiday meetup at Tres Agaves. I ran into some old faces, and met a lot of new ones. This is Marie, she runs an online boutique for curvy gals. She’s working on a fashion show and has all sorts of other tricks up her sleeve. Something tells me we’ll see her again. That is, unless she moves away.
ps. i have a feeling the above abandonment is also why i don't fully understand the term "i miss you" but that’s a topic for another day.