It's been a little over a year and a half since our paths have crossed and with the new turn his life has taken, it is unclear when I will see him next. Our friendship however, has never been one based on close proximity- in fact we only ever lived in the same place for four months total. But that short time was all it took. Those four months were the start of our friendship, the beginning of a deep relationship and a lifetime of a mutual understanding. Our paths crossed and our lives were forever intertwined, regardless of where we are today and the extremely different paths that will get us to where we want to be in the end.
"I'm proud of you" he said after I detailed my life in Colorado, my job, the committees I sit on and my social life that never really seems to slow down. "and I'm proud of you" I responded as he explained his upcoming move, the choices that he's made for his family and the way his life has changed so quickly. As I sit and listened to the things he wants out of life (because somehow, we always find ourselves discussing these types of things), I couldn't help but realize that though our current lives, realities and responsibilities may be so very different right now, in the end- we want the same thing.
It is what brought us together in the beginning and it is what will continue to be the foundation of our friendship, whether we go a year without speaking or five years without seeing each other. We get it, and though we are taking different paths to get there, happiness is coming for the both of us.
"Isn't it funny where life takes us?" he asked as we were closing out the conversation. "Those signs in life that you follow, that you feel deep within you- really do lead you to where you belong"
And as I sat in the sunroom I remembered the signs that I felt before moving here. The license plate, the late nights on the rooftop dreaming of Colorado sunsets and the actual physical pull that I felt to this state and to the place that I now call home, all signs that I chose to follow. "When you feel a place deep within you, you know that it will be a part of you in some way forever" he finished. And as I agreed with him I couldn't help but feel that Colorado will definitely be a part of me forever in one way or another. Then I pictured him, bags packed, leaving for the place that he will put his roots down, the place that he will begin to call home and I couldn't be more proud and more excited for my friend and his next step towards happiness.
"I miss you" he said. And I responded with a simple yet very heavy, "I miss you everyday".
