Far away Friends

As an expat, dealing with friends constantly moving away is probably one of the hardest things we have to deal with. At least it is for me. People come into your life, stay for awhile, then leave. You try to stay in touch, but it's difficult sometimes. So, this article is dedicated to all those friends that I miss.

My oldest friend, Susan, who lives in Texas. Friends since childhood, she means the most to me. We don't talk often enough, but when we do, it is just like we saw each other yesterday. I haven't seen her in about 16 years, so I do long to go visit her or have her come to Germany.

Two more friends from Ohio, Kathy and Kim, are also on my list of friends I long to see. Kathy and I used to have the best time, going out to eat, going to craft shows, and we had a blast in Hilton Head. Kim was my Army buddy and she was my sons first baby sitter when I had to go back to work. Every time I see her, it is like the years just fall away. We just laugh and laugh. Gosh, I miss her.

Then there are all those people I have worked with over the years that became friends. Some of them I still have contact with, and others, somehow got lost. There's Amah, from Ghana, who I worked with at Camp King. We had so much fun together and I have no idea where she is. Lisa, the hairdresser at Camp King. We spent lots of time together with our families and she too is lost out there in the world somewhere.

Melissa, who is now in Africa, was a tremendous help when we renovated the hotel that I managed. As we worked, we became friends. Lord did we laugh a lot. We were always so tired and dirty, but the project was so huge, that it was fun to watch it come to completion. I could have never done it without her help and support and good cheer. Though we email, it gets less and less as time goes by. She remembers my birthday though, which is amazing.

Cristina, better known as "Little Cristina from CSA". This woman has such a wonderful sense of humour and I do miss her. Working at the front desk with her was always such a joy as she always kept me laughing. She was another person who helped me intensively on my hotel renovation project. She kept everything in control, so I could concentrate on the project. I never had to worry about anything. Now she lives in the U.S. with her little baby girl and her husband. This is one friend where we do try and email and chat on the phone frequently. The most amazing thing is that she is 30 years younger than me!

Andrea, maid of honor at my 2nd wedding. We went through our pregnancies together, she was the only person who would watch my son, she came to the hospital and washed my hair for me after my daughter was born, she held my hand when I cried about being abused by my husband, we went on weekend trips together, I watched her kids for her, we did things together as families, and now I have no idea where she is. I wish I could find her.

Pat, who I met in the Army Reserve at my first drill weekend in Germany, back in 1986. We sorta have contact, but not really. Maybe I haven't tried hard enough. But we did so many things together, back when our kids were small, it would be a shame to just let it completely drift away.

Nikki, who worked with me at the hotel. She moved to Berlin, and I thought we would never see each other again. We were able to meet up again though, this past month when we went to Berlin. She and her husband had us over for dinner and we got to meet her little boy. It made going to Berlin that much nicer.

Ronda, one of my best friends when my daughter was little, she moved back to the states and somehow, we lost contact. That seems strange now, and if I had to do it over, I would have worked harder to keep the connection going. Now that we have email, I think it is easier. But boy, when I think back on how much we laughed together, I know how much I miss her. We both had alcoholic husbands and somehow we were able to joke about it all.

Alice, who also decided to go back to the states. But then turned around and came back a year later to get married. This is a friendship that I seriously messed up somehow and wish I could do it over. I used to consider Alice as my best friend. And now? We don't have contact at all anymore. I do know that I miss talking and laughing with her and wish I had been a better friend. This is live and learn situation and makes me sad.

So, to all my friends near and far, know that I think about you often and even if I don't keep in touch as good as I should, I still care about you.