RSVP now for the pity party being thrown tonight!

Alright, so I know this is ridiculous, but I just need to stick it out there...

It's different living in Florida vs. living on a small island in Alaska. Let's face it, when you live in a community with only one major grocery store, everyone really gets to know one another. Now I'm really struggling with how BIG Florida is. Don't get me wrong, we've lived here before. But here's a little secret - when you leave, time really does go on. People marry, or divorce, or have kids and devlop way different parenting views than you; basically - we are all in a process of changing the person that we are. Sometimes true friendship can look past these things, and sometimes it changes the person that was once your friend so much that the friendship isn't exactly ruined, it's just not the same.

Don't get me wrong, we've got friends, we've got family, we've got a nice life. It's just that Florida is just so BIG, that it's not what I'm used to. I want to go to the bookstore tonight and get a decaf drink and browse books. I wish I had a girlfriend that lived close by to call up and invite to go with me.

That is all - just my sadness that the close friends that we had when we left Florida have all changed. Or maybe it's me that's changed. Not horrible changed, but just different changed. And the new friends I'm making through work - all seem to live in 6 different directions.

Interesting how the Coast Guard life really fosters friendships because everyone gets to know everyone else after a while, and chances are when you are restationed somewhere, it's pretty likely that either you'll know someone there, or you'll know a friend that knows someone there and you'll automatically have at least one person to hang out with. Now that we are all but out of the Coast Guard, it's starting to feel a little lonely out here.

I'll be okay. I'm still going to the bookstore in a little bit after I put the kids to bed.