Friends in (Un)Familiar Places

Before parting for Italy, I don't think I had ever fully appreciated the beauty of technology. Think about it a second and it makes complete sense. When a 5.8 earthquake hit my city at a ridiculous hour of the morning, my parents knew as soon as I did. Above all, my ability to remain in contact with the people I needed the most kept me moving with such ease. Miles can't ruin someone's determination to really be there for you. Don't listen to what the haters say, long distant friendships are real. I have 100% faith. Babies in Watertown, artists in Hartford, sisters in DC, Canadians in Sicily... I have never been further from or closer to them. If you aren't bored of listening to talk about myself yet (because geeze louise I know I am), do this the right way -

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Let's start with my little men. Do you know how terrified I was to leave all my mini-people at home fearing that I would find myself there ten months later completely forgotten? What a joke. I left Ethan a stumbling-around monster proud of his "yes" and "no" answers. How weird is it to watch him grow up, not in front of my eyes, but on my screen into the little boy running around screaming and shouting the words he's so quickly learned? Don't worry, my name has made it into his vocabulary and my love has remained in his heart! My troublemaker Owen marched his way to KINDERGARTEN this September. Goodness gracious, I feel so old. I'm so proud of that little guy. Since the beginning of the year, we've been discussing where exactly I've disappeared to. "Hey Owen, remember that time you took a plane? I took one too. It was a suuuuper long ride and I went over the beach and now I'm in Italy. You get it?""Oh yeah... so you're like near Texas and stuff?" Good enough, that'll do for Owen. They can't understand where I've gone or if/when I'm coming back but catching 2 minutes of their attention on screen has consistently brightened my day. I can't wait to get back to disturb everyone at naptime and to cuddle whenever, wherever.

Our next case in the Series of Fortunate Friends proves to be even more peculiar. That would be Chaz, the nearly sophomore at Hartford University studying artsy stuff. I've met him...4 times maybe? We ran into each other at a few parties over the summer. We happened to be both bored out of our minds one late fall afternoon and we Skyped. And so it goes, the end. He's become a real friend to me. I don't know how tall he is and I don't remember what kind of car he drives but I know he's been a consistent and good listener whenever needed. To me, that's all what really matters. Sometimes it this feels like some weird 8th grade AOLChat story considering our lack of 3D-contact but nobody ever laid ground rules for a bro life. How cool is that? Ok scratch that and let's be honest, how weird is that?

I hate myself for even mentioning this beast in a post about how much I love people blah, blah, blah. However, I'll be calling HOT93.7 TELL'EM WHY YOU MAD as soon as I get home to report the presence of this little monster, aka my replacement. He has invaded my home and stolen the hearts of my parents. Excuse me, Little Pig, who do you think you are? I don't expect we'll get along well. #ThingsIHate.

PS. Did anyone else notice that when one of the Miranda sisters moves out, another dog arrives? Karen and Ray, your problems are serious.

This is a face we all know well by now, no? That would be mah soul sista with one of the two babies who have captured her heart (timeout- remember when Emily hated any human under 4 ft. tall?). Apart from our pride that her motherly loving has finally kicked in, I've loved watching her settle into this new DC life. Her courage to ditch our scene and throw herself into the sweet city life far away was a great development to watch unfold. And hey, doesn't that story sound familiar? Maybe that's what made her so good for me this year. I have never been so far away from her but we've never gotten along better. Coincidence? "Maybe it's a yes, maybe it's a no." Either way, there was nothing more reassuring than knowing that no matter the hour, no matter the day, Emily was never more than a telephone call or a quick email away. My Life Would Suck Without You, DGuetta. How clique would it be to say that you've been there for all the best of the good and the worst of the bad? Grazie. 

Last but not least :) It's time for a special shout-out to my birthday princess. This is Anna. Do you recognize her? You shouldn't creeps. We barely know each other so any pictures or stories you think you might know her from aren't even real. Back in the day when I was a little girl with naive, bright eyes in the big, bad city of Rome, I hit it off with Canadians (....who would have thought). The small world that we live in lead Anna to Rome with Aurelie, the Canadian living in Bologna with me // her classmate at home. We passed the free time in those two or three days together and then said goodbye. "Hey, it was nice meeting you, see you in 10 months... keep it real." Buuuut that wasn't the end of it. Annacanada just couldn't get enough of me so now the Bologna-Sicily Skype sessions and regular Facebook chatting are completely normal. The worst/weirdest is when I miss her. After few days we go without talking, there's nothing I would love more just to go grab a cup of coffee with my girl. Don't worry, road trips between Montreal and CT are already being arranged. I love her except for the times she creeps me out by having an extraordinary similar personality. Oh whatever, she's my foreign twin - no doubt. And guess what? JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE! The little lady turned 18 this week. Goodness gracious how fast the kids grow up these days. Anyways, I know she likes to blog-stalk occasionally allora volevo solo salutare mia principessa e dovevo confessare quanto ti voglio bene. 

Don't you dare assume that these are the only far away friends I've managed to keep. If I'm a loser, at least it's not that bad. Staying so far away for so long has really helped me understand not only who my real friends are and who's been there for me but also what our most important qualities are. At the end of the day, I'm here and you're there. We've had ten completely different months; so what keeps us together? The luvin' and the laughin', yeah, yeah, but I do not think I was in any position to understand what the values mattered until I separated myself from everything I was used to. I don't expect for the weirdness to last too long before I go right back to these people with the normality of the good times we've been used to for so long. 

I do not care what car you drive. Where you live. If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone. If your clothes are this years cutting edge. If you are A list or B list or never heard of you list. If your trust fund is unlimited. I only care about the words that flutter from your mind. They are the only thing you own. The only thing I will remember you by. I will not fall in love with your bones or skin. I will not fall in love with the places you have been. I will not fall in love with anything but the words that flutter from your extraordinary mind.