Mitchel

Last January, my best friend moved half-way across the country with her little family, probably never to return to living on the Central Coast of California. I didn't know what I was going to do with myself having her any farther away than a 15 minute drive. There was something very comforting to this introvert about spending my time with someone who knows me better than anyone and who doesn't need constant explanations of what I mean when I say something. Karl and I spent most of our free time with Flo and Josh and we preferred it that way, but we weren't the only ones who felt really sad to see them go. Seth and Skylana had also become quite attached to them and we all did things together a lot of the time. When the time grew closer for Flo and Josh to take off and leave us all behind, we started joking with S & S about hanging out with each other once they were gone. Flo and Josh were definitely our common bond at that point, so it was funny to talk about doing something without them. The first time we hung out with them without Flo and Josh we felt like we were being unfaithful, like we were having a friend affair.

All 6 of us, swapped

After F & J were gone, we started hanging out more and more, and liking it. Skylana and I started hanging out back when I was home all day being a mama. She would come over and we would get to know each other while our kids (who are 6 months apart) would play. Flo was happy that we had found friendship with each other but every time we hung out we would wish Flo was there. All of us started having monthly Sunday brunches at our homes, talking over dinners made for each other, going out to eat, talking about difficult issues, playing with our kids, and the list goes on. One major common bond we have with Seth and Skylana is in our parenting styles. From bedtimes to food choices to discipline, there isn't much we disagree on, so that makes hanging out with our kids pretty easy. All of us believe in healthy bedtimes for kids, so our kids learned to fall asleep at each other's homes at their normal (7pm) bedtimes. There is something so comforting about being understood by other parents on major issues, and with Seth and Skylana we felt right at home. Having our kids be in their beds early in the evening also allowed us the opportunity to have meaningful conversations, which was important to us too. We became fast friends and had more fun than most parents with young children get to.

Before this starts to sound like sunshine and roses all over the place, there were times when we didn't even come close to agreeing on issues. We've shared some tense and brutally honest moments with each other. I have made Skylana cry on more than one occasion and she has made me cry too - and we're not criers. I'm so thankful for that kind of reality in a friendship though. To have someone who will call you out on things and you still know that they will love you no matter what. She has taught me that it's ok not to agree on certain issues, but that it's important to always try to see how someone else can feel the way they do about something.

Friendships can never replace other friendships, and while I have never felt that our friendship with S & S replaced ours with F & J, I feel like it was a sequel to the chapter in our life when we all lived close together. A really good sequel.

So, here I am today, feeling a little blindsided by the fact that they are already gone. We knew it was coming, just not so soon (they didn't either, for the record.) We couldn't be happier for them and the opportunity that awaits them in LA and we are so glad that they are only 3.5 hours away. (We love road trips, especially ones that are close to the length of a nap.) These are "forever friends" and even though it will not be as easy to hang out any more, they will never be out of our lives. We are looking forward to the next chapter for us here, and we're thankful that we have so many other faithful friends still here with us. We'll just really, really miss the Roberts.



And Karl and I love you too. See you soon suckas!