The move had been coming for three years. It wasn't clear until recently when exactly I'd be moving, or where, and there were times when I thought it might be avoided entirely. However, the notion had been there, on and off, ever since I was informed that my previous job was disappearing. As a consequence of this, and in a bid to reduce the pain of leaving, I had spent some of that time drawing away from my friends back home. This in itself was quite an unpleasant experience, but there were still a great number of people I would consider friends back home.
Since the move, I have yet to make any actual friends. That's not particularly surprising: I've been here two and a half weeks, which isn't really long enough, and although the people here have been universally friendly, there is a gap between being friendly towards someone and being the friend of that person.
It is difficult dealing with the wrench that that represents, even for someone like myself, who is by nature fairly solitary anyway. Back home, the person I was probably closest to was my brother, the person I turned to to drive the length of the country to help with the move, and it was always reassuring to know that we could always talk about something. We understood one another, had a huge amount in common, and didn't need to explain ourselves. Now, although he's on the other end of the phone, it's just not the same. There's a distance that's quite unnerving.
True friends are rarer than diamonds, and far more valuable. Treasure those you have.
1 comment:
Hi Steven,
Like the blog. Great way to keep in touch.
I have one also, though I am so bad at using it!
Hope you keep your's going.
Take care,
Chris
Post a Comment