| So, although the purpose of this blog is to talk about our intended move, its become somewhat of a personal diary and so I thought it relevant that I note my outing with my best friend over the weekend. My buddy and I have been friends for years, we know each other inside out. We've cried over boyfriends together, held each other's hair back when throwing up and kept secrets about each other that would shock other people. The usual kind of girly-sisterhood bestfriendness! She used to be a large size 22, she would cower as much as she could when we went out. She didn't really date, and she was so self-conciouss it stopped her persuing her goals. I on the other hand was a party freak. Out every night, living life to the full, off travelling, dating all the time, enjoying every second of life. So, now she's a SIZE 8!!!! Very dramatic weight loss. She dresses all trendy, she dates all the time because her long term relationship has broken down. She's kind of turned into this mental person, determined to make up for all the lost time she missed in her twenties. I'm now a married Mother of two. Drinking isn't too much of an option for me, because I need to deal with the girls in the morning, the culture of dressing in clothes too small and revealing certainly isn't an option anymore! The whole night time thing is beyond me. I prefer a nice dinner and a nice bottle of wine. The bars are overcrowded, they're dirty, people are rude to each other, men grope women, people get drunk and get into street brawls. Its really rather depressing. I just wanted to have dinner with my friend, catch up and then go home. But she wanted an all nighter. She's depressed. Her weight is an obsession, she starves herself or eats loads and throws up. She cries alone in secret. She has the stress of sorting out the mortgage with her ex, she feels downtrodden. She's under enormous pressure at work, she feels undervalued and un appreciated. Looking back, I should have seen that going out with this mindframe was a reciepe for disaster. I should have insisted that we head back to hers for a quiet drink. But I didn't. She wanted a night out, and I obliged her. I felt uncomfortable all evening, I kept wondering if Steve had given Moons her cough medicine, if Pip had eaten much all day, etc. My mate just wanted to knock back drink and check out the blokes. I felt like a little tag-along. It was unusual territory for me. The night crept on and we found ourselves at this dreadful pub. My friend was enjoying the male attention, we ended up going back to her place, us and a few guys I didn't know. I got into a heated debate with a guy about the war in Iraq!! - Not sure how that happened. The night was tiresome and I decided to leave. My mate had pulled the guy she was after and apparantly the reason we'd stayed out so long and ended up at this lousy bar. She just isn't the girl I used to know anymore. I'm so torn, I want to help her, but I'm leaving, I can only advise her on where to get help and try and follow it up from overseas. We're both so different now, we have different interests and we've grown into different people. I never thought me and my best friend would grow apart so much. No matter what's happened in life or how its left between us, we always resume the same course of friendship. I love my best friend so much. But I was left wondering as my mate pruned herself in the mirror for the zillionth time, excitedly texting on her phone, looking beyond me to the males, who was this girl? |