Sunday, February 27, 2011

In a land far, far away.

I love where I live. Sure it gets bloody hot, mother nature is currently trying to kill everyone in Australia and we have a ranga as our PM yet I still have a kind of fierce love for my country.

However, there are times that I wish I lived anywhere else.

Because anywhere else would be closer to everyone else than where I am now.

Ten years ago I would never have dreamt that I would become such close friends with people who live on the other side of the world. I would never have imagined that I would visit far away places to meet almost complete strangers, people who I only knew from chatting on MoH and could well have been hoaxes themselves (as I almost believed when Boo was an hour late meeting me at the airport! Oh how we laugh about that now!). Ten years ago I had few female friends let alone close friends.

But a lot can change in ten years and so it has. And that leads me to where I am today, looking back through photos taken from various holidays, reminiscing about the good times (most of them), wincing at the bad (Will's disappearing act) and being a rather sad, miserable wretch.

I miss my friends dammit!

I miss hanging out with them, how easy it is to laugh with them, the fact that we have the same sense of humour.
I miss the quiet times and the times we rushed around like headless chickens because we were running late for the bus.
I miss Edinburgh itself, the city that stole my heart with it's history (over fifty years old!), majestic buildings, creepy graveyards, culture and flair.
I miss arguing with Boo over things I wouldn't eat or even try.
I miss Zeph's cheeky grin and the funny faces he pulled.
I miss the way that Christian so effortlessly became mates with my friends.
I miss showing them around Perth and watching them fall as much in love with my tiny city as I am.
I miss our girly outings, dressing up, wearing the biggest boots and shoes we had and teeming them with lacy gloves and black lipstick.

I speak to Mouse most days via msn. I rarely see Boo online so we have regular phone calls (weekly when we can but rarely less than once a fortnight).
But it's just not the same! I want to be able to call them up and say 'Let's hang out tonight' or meet up with them for coffee (or tea!). Talking on the phone whilst browsing 80'stees.com is not the same as shopping together. Watching videos of Zeph impersonating a pirate is no where near as wonderful as seeing him do it in person. Writing *hugs* isn't even the shadow of a real hug.

Gah! It's just so frustrating sometimes. The world is so small now but at the same time, it's bigger than it ever was.

In roughly 18 months Boo and Matt will be coming to visit again. Rarely have I wished time to fly by so fast...

6 comments:

Hieronymous Anonymous said...

Beautifully put, sweetie.
(You know I still feel guilty about being late to meet you at the airport, right?) ;-)

Even with attempting to stalk you on google maps (you started it) and with our phone calls (which I love) it's just not the same as being there, or you being here.

We are so excited about coming to see you guys! You know we love Perth just as you love Edinburgh.
I try not to think about the actual distance, because that makes it worse for me. I just comfort myself with the miracles of modern technology that can, even a little, stave off some of the sadness.

Mouse said...

Yeah, MSN and phone calls are wonderful, but they're nowhere near as good as seeing you in person. I miss you so much. :-(

Shawna said...

:( Can I say that I want the chance to miss you? Someday soon I plan on coming to visit (and you're welcome here anytime)!

Nettie said...

Awww that's so sweet Shawna! You know you're welcome here anytime :)

Oppiejoe said...

*mimics Shawna to attempt to get the same empathy*

Nettie said...

Ditto for you too Joe!