Friday, January 9, 2009

Breaking the Ice


Four months have passed since I've been writing here. While there have been a few posts in that time (nine if you count the two "I'm too busy to post" posts,) the steady stream of finger chatter has been essentially silenced.

I explained what a busy few months I've had to a friend on email today. I typed out a string of changes and adventures I've undertaken in the last 4 months and realized that every single change fell into exactly one month.

A move across the country when you've lived in the same place for thirty-seven years would have been enough. A new wife - enough. A nine-thousand mile trip to Japan - enough. Quitting a job you've had for fourteen years - you get the picture. Having encountered a life change cocktail like that, I'm surprised I remember to put on pants.

It's not the rain that has me down. It's the two-thousand miles separating my friends and I. In a month from now the lady will be out here sharing a roof once more after three long months of extraordinarily phone bills. Unless all of you plan to move two-thousand miles west, I've a reason to be down.

The longer you stay away from something, the harder and more awkward it is to come back to. Every day I didn't post I wondered how I would start back up. I've a dozen unfinished posts and I'm not sure they're even relevant any longer. I can write new posts in Seattle but I made so many back in Chicago.

I can make new friends in Seattle but I have so many back in Chicago.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't worry. We Chicago-ans (-ites?) won't let it be awkward when we see you. The times we have seen you since you left really feels like it always had. All great.

We will miss you and always harass you to visit. We will even come out there to visit you. I don't think I've ever traveled once to visit a family member, but we are going to visit you up there.

You will get new friends up in your new area and once the wife comes up, it will feel like a home.

Regardless of your new friends, you will always have your old ones.

Slack-a-gogo said...

Welcome back blogger! I look forward to seeing more posts from you. You've had a crazy ride Mr Toad, and now you have some room to take a breather and look back on all you've done in the past few months. I know you've still got a few more pieces of the puzzle to put together, but you're off to a hell of a start and I know you'll make the most of it.

I'm envious of some of the changes you've made, but even more envious that you actually got up and did it. And you didn't stir it up a little, you put the whole damn thing in the blender! That's so damn cool and you're going to reap the benefits of that more than you probably even know now. When things settle down and the Mrs is there full time and the familiarity of your new home kicks in, you're going to be happy as hell that you did what you did. And your Chicago friends are still in your corner, we're just further away.

EliPunk77 said...

at the risk of sounding corny you'll always have a regular reader here whether you're posting from Seattle, Chicago, or wherever...

Keep in touch my friend!