Forever Friends

I am one lucky girl.  I have a wonderful bunch of friends the world over, whom I miss on a regular basis.  But when we see each other, within five minutes, it’s as though no time has passed at all.  We are laughing and have picked up where we left off.

It’s a strange feeling this, it’s like the last two years have been a dream.  It leads to a sense of timelessness.  Yes, there are babies that have arrived without me seeing the bumps.  Yes, there is everyday gossip to work through but in general it’s easy to slot back in.

I went to a friend’s wedding in Sydney on the weekend.  Fe and I met on a bus trip through Europe and from day one, we were inseparable.  In fact it has been commented on that from our photos, you would think that we were travelling on our own!  We discovered that our birthdays were a day apart and that we were both moving to London without knowing a soul there.  It was natural for us to get a place together.  Fe’s boyfriend Dan came to visit us for a few weeks and we had a ball together.  Fe and I got through the first hell six months in London with pretty much only each other.  There were tears, laughs and loads of crazy times in our wee flat with no tele.  After Dan left Fe was heartbroken, and I encouraged her to go back home to him.  That’s not to say that I didn’t miss her like a limb or ball like a baby when she left.

At Fe’s wedding, I was both surprised and delighted to be mentioned in her wedding speech.  I was accepted as a member of her family, just as she has been in mine (she and Dan have visited NZ and stayed with my family). And on this occasion I made another friend who I can see is a keeper, she is already willing me to move to Aussie.

Saying goodbye to Fe was hard.  Saying goodbye to my road trip friends was difficult.  How on earth am I going to be able to say goodbye to my family and friends this time?  I am beginning to feel homesick for NZ, even though I am still here.  Now I am more confused than ever about where I want to live – NZ, Aussie or London?

Don’t worry London peeps, I have not forgotten about you.  I think about you loads and am looking forward to being back in your fold soon.  But as most of you are expats I am sure that you can relate to what I am feeling.

The last time I was at home I was not in a good way.  I was ill with endo and not in a happy place with men.  This time is different.  I am the happiest I have been in years and apparently it shows.  My oldest (not in years) friend said it took her a while to figure out what was different about me.  She finally realised it was that I was happy.  What a nice thing to hear.

I maintain that this is down to my amazing support network the world over.  No matter where I am in the world there is someone there, or if there is not they are at the end of the phone or computer and they are all on my side, pulling for me to be happy and to do the best I can.  I wish that you could all meet each other one day, I am sure that you would have a great time and love each other as much as I love you all!