"Home is not where you live, but where they understand you."

You thought I was going to say home is whenever I'm with you, didn't you? Well no, although I do love that song. I was just gchatting with a dear friend today and I was telling her how much I miss her and how weird it is to live somewhere where almost nobody really knows me, except Brody of course. But she has known me since we were maybe 12 years old and was there with me through the highs and lows of adolescence. She and the rest of my wonderful friends in Salt Lake, whether they've known me since we were barely 6 years old, taking swimming lessons together at the tennis club, or when we were stupid teenagers driving around in a van listening to eminem or razoring down the gulley because you know, we were just so cool like that.

But being out here I realize how I took that familiarity for granted.

There are pros and cons to such an existance. You get a blank slate, you get to be whoever you want. And yes, that is great and all, but I'm not a 18-year-old going to college to figure that out anymore. I am very secure in who I am and almost more importantly, who I am not. I'm not busy checking facebook anymore to see what my 'friends' are up to, or updating my status with blatant cries for attention/validation (we've all been there, especially those of us who were in college when it all got started anyway). I'm not concerned about the number of people in my 'friends list' or the number of comments I get on my little blog. That's not why I do it.

I just don't need that anymore. I'm secure in the fact that I have a handful of really great friends that I keep in touch with through daily chats, texts, blogs, and dare I say it, even phone calls... Just the other week I had an hour-long phone call in the middle of a crowded CVS with one of my closest friends from college, and it was like no time had passed even though we hadn't kept in as good of touch as we would like. But she knows me, we lived together for 3+ years and even though so much has changed in our lives and we literally live on opposite sides of the country, it's still the same. Whether we are all getting together for lunch at CPK, or leaving voicemails about listening to FM100 and thinking of each other. And it was refreshing to talk to someone who knows me, who was such a huge part of that time in my life.

I was just thinking today that I am going on 4+ years of working full time. It's kind of crazy to think that I've been working professionally for the same amount of time I was in high school, and I don't think I would have made it through with without my long G-chats with another one of my best friends on all topics ranging from capital punishment and politics to harry potter. I lived and traveled with her for good month too, and it's always a comfort to get her perspective. Because she will tell me how she really feels--unabashed. I can have an intelligent conversation with her. And she knows the real me, the good, the bad, and the ugly choices I've made :)

A lot of my closest friends from college all came from working together at Cafe Rio of all places, and I still keep in touch with them and no matter how much time passes, it's still normal and fun when we get together (or when they post an ugly picture of me on their blog *hem hem). We can count on each other, even if it's something as random as things to do in DC during the fall, or hanging no parking signs and helping each other to the airport :)

And I've made some other suprising work friends too. It's strange to be in a new office where I'm not able to relentlessly make fun of my superiors and where people really don't go to lunch together. I miss my old work friends and our daily lunches. I miss our quote board and I miss that familiarity, but I still keep in touch through texts and emails (oh and pottermore), but again, now that it's gone I realize how much I took for granted.

But just this last weekend, I got to go shopping with a new girlfriend and it was so fun! We were planning on going to the Relief Society Broadcast but when our ride fell through we decided we might as well go shopping together :) I haven't been able to shop with a girlfriend since July! (Brody doesn't do shopping unless it involves electronics). But it was so great to get to know each other better and make a new friend (bonus, she has excellent taste).

And we have met so many other wonderful people in our ward, which I'm a little obsessed with. Let's jsut say that testimony meeting in the DC 3rd, is sometimes referred to as open mic night. It's wonderfully authentic and refreshing.

Are you still there...?

I'm sorry this turned into such a cheese-fest novel, but I just wanted to articulate how exciting and strange it is to build new friendships, and how comforting it is to have a solid network of old friends that keep in touch. Because next to my awesome family, they are the next big thing ya know?