Friends

Ryan went to a conference last evening {interrupting here: "last evening" sounds so positively snooty to me, but to say "last night" gives the impression I had to survive a whole overnight away from him, and that's not true, so "last evening" it is...please read with a Kitty Montgomery accent.} - so I had time at home to read.

Ahhhh reading, how I have missed you! I've already read four books this year, and I think that's equal to the amount I had time to read in the last four years, so clearly I'm pretty happy. Right now I'm working on Melanie Shankle's third book, Nobody's Cuter Than You. I'm excited about this book because I dearly adore Melanie's writing, but also because she's my final hour-long interview at the station before I leave. {Bittersweet sigh.}

Her first book was about motherhood. Her second book was about marriage. And this one is a memoir about the beauty of friendship. Parts of the book are funny to me because I'm just a few years younger than Melanie, and she's conjuring up so many memories about life in the 80's as she recounts her stories...so funny!

But parts of the book make me just grab my pen and ruler {hello, OCD} to underline as I nod voraciously at words she penned that I could have written just as sincerely. There is that thing about the friendships of women...that transcend age and geography.

I think my heart is hyper-sensitive to it because my friendships are the thing I'm most looking forward to rekindling in the great change of life seasons coming up here.

Yesterday I got an email from my friend Jenny, who met me when I was eighteen and hadn't yet discovered a flat iron...or a clothing iron for that matter. {Sorry, Mom.} She survived the stories of a million crushes, the angst of a college student who wanted to drop out a month before graduation, and the fear of a young single adult foraging her way on her own. For years, we ate lunch together once a week. We were on a first name basis with the managers of most fast food establishments in our fine town.

And then I changed jobs. We tried really hard to switch to dinners...but it just didn't work as well. And then I got married, and life was {beautifully} full, and I'm not sure the last time we even saw each other in real life. We talk through email. She reads the blog {Hi, Jenny!!!} - and so our friendship has limped along. She was away and missed the big news of last week, so when she casually asked "What's up with you?" in her email, I shot back, "Oh, you know. Quit my job."

3...2...1...and there it was! WHAT!?!?!?!?!!?!

And her first question after the shock? "Does this mean we can have lunch again?"

I cannot tell you the joy that melted over my heart with these words. She's been so patient these last four years, probably thinking I'd gotten too big for my britches and forgotten all about her. But it's not true. I haven't.

And I'm looking forward to those lunches again. I'm looking forward to Skype dates with Olivia. We used to chat ever week, but then she got married, and then I got married and then she had a baby {not following suit here, sorry} - and our schedules haven't meshed. But maybe now they can.

My heart sags a bit, knowing some of my friendships have drifted possibly beyond repair. That part never gets easier, does it? I know they all have seasons, and some do come to a close, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

I know there will be much to do in the post-producer life, and I can't just become a professional socialite. I will have responsibilities and other tasks that demand {and deserve!!} my time, but the joy of anticipating a return of the friendship-investment is something I so look forward to relishing.

Melanie said in her book, "there are a few people in your life who become so much a part of you that it feels like you're missing a limb when they're gone."

Truth.

I know in the change to come, I'm going to lose a few more limbs, and that makes my heart sad. But I am excited for the ones I get to find again!