Drift & our Moving Log

Because we are moving to Indiana, I've been spending a lot of time contemplating friendships. Friendships are fluid. I want them to be cemented & permanent, but they are fluid. Some friends come & go easily - others stay forever. But, all relationships have times of closeness and times of not-so-closeness. Someone once e-mailed me a poem about friends. It talked about being friends for a Reason, friends for a Season and Forever friends. It has stuck with me for years. I'll try to find it & post it sometime.

This is our fourth "major" move. We have been married 10.5 years and have lived in 8 different apartments or houses. You could say we have moved a lot. In fact, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on moving. There is a HUGE difference between simply "moving" and a "major move".

To me, a "major" move is when you have to change churches, schools, doctors and more. A "regular" move is when you move within your comfort zone and you are simply sleeping in a different place. (There is no "simple" in moving, but you know what I mean!) Unfortunately, with a "major" move, the vast majority of your friendships change also. I resist change. Probably because I have moved so many times - duh! I want everyone to be my Forever friend. I want every friendship to stay the same. There's not a conscious effort to "end" a friendship - it just happens. People drift apart. Lives change. We no longer see each other at a weekly gathering or drive past each others houses. Drift... It's a natural thing, but I try my hardest to rebel against it. In fact, I could probably use the HATE word here (and I try really hard not to use that word). I definitely have used the word HATE many times when talking about moving.

Anyway, I digress... I have been blessed to have a lot of friendships in Texas and though I know that some friendships will drift, I also know that many will not. I am blessed to have called so many people friend. In fact, I've contemplated having an entire blog devoted to the people that God has brought into my life and the impact they have had on me. I'll let you know if I start that blog someday. It may look something like this sweet post from my friend Jenny. (Thanks, Jenny! I hope that my friendship with you doesn't drift...)

While we're walking down memory lane with all of this moving business, let's review the places I've lived (red capital M indicates Major Move - remember, major move means changing our church/school/doctor/friends/learning a new area/etc.):

• Auburn, Nebraska (7 years, 2 months)
• Decatur, Illinois (10 years, 9 months) M
• Macomb, Illinois (3 1/2 years, minus summers - college) M
• Potosi, Missouri (summer job - 2 summers)
• Amboy, Illinois (summer internship) M

- marriage to Tommie -

• Beardstown, Illinois (2 1/2 months)
• Pontiac, Illinois (7 months) M
• Gridley, Illinois (2+ years)
• Bloomington, Illinois (7 months)
• Peoria, Illinois - house #1 (1 year, 11 months) M
• Lewisville, Texas - apartment #1 (7 months) M
• Lewisville, Texas - apartment #2 (2 years, 2 months)
• Lewisville, Texas - house #2 (2 years, 4 months)
• and now... Evansville, Indiana - temporary housing M

Wow. This is what I hope & pray the next entry in my list will read:

• Newburgh, Indiana - house #3 (20+ years and counting...)

[Side note: Just in case anyone is curious - the boys & I arrived in Texas on July 7, 2003 and we are leaving on July 12, 2008. Five years and five days later. And, the longest Tommie & I have ever lived in the same town - by far!]

I'm so grateful for our time in Texas and so grateful for friendships, but that is a post for another day (or a whole other blog). I'm exhausted just remember our moves... I'm going to bed.