Making Friends

"Make new friends,

but keep the old.

One is silver,

the other is gold."

from 'Make New Friends', a Girl Scout campfire song

Something I dreaded about moving to the west coast was having to make new friends... again. It doesn't matter how old/young, nice/outgoing you are, or how many times you have moved--it's hard to make friends!  It takes a lot of time to get to know someone, to trust them, and to make sure you won't scare them away with your weirdness--let alone find ways to meet new people in the first place! When people ask how I like San Diego so far I often respond with, "I love it! I just wish I could bring my friends here with me!"

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like the people out in San Diego--we've been blessed with having some great friends from USUHS come out here with us and have met some wonderful people here already in Brian's program and in my grad classes--I'm saying it's hard to make strong, positive relationships in one place and then have to leave them. 

I was reminded of this a lot over the past few weeks. Two weekends ago I went back to DC and got to see my teacher friends and my cross country runners again. It was so wonderful to see them and honestly it re-energized my soul. I made some wonderful friends there for sure! And then I got to talk to some of my best girlfriends from college over the phone & texts, and they lifted my spirits too. I made some forever friends in college for sure! And just this weekend we celebrated Halloween with some new friends out here, and I grabbed brunch with another couple of them today. We're making some great friends out here too!  

I'm glad we're living in a time where it is easier to keep in touch--via email, Facebook, Skype, phone, and even blogs--but I miss my friends. And these new friends that we're making out here, I will miss them too when the Navy says it's time to leave again. 

But for now, I will go out of my comfort zone and make new friends. I will cherish the moments I have here in sunny SD with the awesome people we've met & will meet--and I will do my best to keep in contact with those back in Michigan, New York, and DC/NoVA--friends that I never want to forget. 

Silver and Gold. Thank you for being our friends and know that we love you guys, no matter where we are!

Where I'm From

For my Multiple Literacies class this week we were asked to do some creative writing of our own to eventually convert into digital storytelling. Working through this poem brought up lots of great memories for me, and even though it is just a rough draft I thought I'd share if with you.

Let me know what you think or how I could make it better. And family members, if you have any pictures from Grandpa's house that you could send I'd really appreciate it. I don't have any with me here in San Diego. Thank you for letting me share these memories with you!

Where I’m From

I am from climbing trees,
from Apple and Maple.
I am from the small red and white farmhouse,
cozy and warm,
that always smelled of fresh baked cookies.
I am from the sassafras tree, the mint patch and rhubarb
that Grandpa would show us and pluck off to share.

I am from hard fought cribbage matches
and Sunday pro football,
from Wayne and Rhea and Mary Ellen’s loving care.
I’m from the prayers before dinner and
the walks outside after,
from Remember your Savior and You be good Babe, ya hear?

I’m from Jackson and Adrian,
apple pie and molasses cookies.
From the fort building with Michael so deep in the forest,
from the long talks with Grandma that soothe tired souls.
I am from family, unconditional love and tradition,
a story that lives in me wherever I go.

A Room with a View

To preface this, you have to remember that I have lived in:

• more college dorms & apartments than I care to count (but thankfully all with my roommate Christine).
• a super small, yellow, one-person house that we insisted could hold three girls (ahh, good times in the C.S.).
• a basement apartment in NYC with no real windows to the outside world (but with a decorative window in the living room that even fooled the building safety inspector).
• two different NoVA apartments surrounded by traffic congestion (AKA The Beltway).

Because of these unforgettable, and actually wonderful, experiences I have learned that I can live almost anywhere and make the best of it. Big or small, windows or no, I will make do with what I have. And thankfully I have been blessed with awesome roommates over the years that made all the difference in the world!

Brian on the other hand is very picky about where he lives--not picky in a stuck up way by any means, but picky as in particular and knowing exactly what wants/doesn't want. His biggest sticking point is that he LOVES natural light--the more light the better. He would almost go crazy when he would come to visit me in NYC due to the lack of natural light in the place.

Well when we moved to San Diego he finally got his wish. Our new place is almost more windows than walls and he has all the natural light he could ever want. Even I have to admit how great it is to have so much light. We're going to have to tell the Navy that we can't ever move because almost any other place will pale in comparison to what we have here. And the view! I can sit at the kitchen table and look out the window all day (which is so not good for my study habits!). The apartment still has its shortcomings--not enough storage space, no screens on the windows or porch door to keep the cats in & other things out, walls that mark up too easily if you brush something against them, etc.--but overall it is an awesome place and we couldn't be happier. 

As promised in an earlier post, here is a badly narrated video tour of the place. And seriously, you should come visit! We'd love to have you! :)