My first friend

I'm not gonna sugar coat the fact that living in Ohio has been tough for me.  Isolation has gotten the best of me over the past 4 months {Read:: I'm a big fat baby and I wanna go home}.  The toughest part is, undoubtedly, being away from my loved ones.  

I miss unexpected visits from my father in law.  

I miss popping over to my sister in law's  sister's house to drink a beer, order pizza, and watch the kids play. 

I miss manis and pedis with my bestie.  

I miss just knowing that at any moment, if I needed someone, they'd be there. 

Feeling sorry for myself is not my thing.  And I was kinda sickened with myself when it dawned on me. 

"You. Yeah, you.  You're feeling freaking sorry for yourself, aren't you?" 

UGH.

Can't you just picture it?  I'm looking in the mirror talking out loud to myself?  Cause I totally was.  I do that.  A lot. 

Anyway, I wanted to throat punch my reflection.  Wanted to just scream in frustration for allowing it to get this way.  Lucky for that mirror, I am not the splinters-of-broken-glass-in-my-knuckles kind of gal.  But I did loudly resolve that I was not gonna be a mope a day longer. 

Mopey is not attractive on me.  

Not long after this confrontation with my reflection, as if by some cosmic collision, I bumped into one of the first girls I met at one of those meet ups I swore I was gonna start going to all the time.  It was at the Kroger.  And it was clear that our conversation was pretty effortless.  And that we should probably hang out.  Our kids even high-fived when we parted ways. So we made plans to hang out.  Which leads me to today.  

We met at the food court and spent an hour and a half walking the mall.  We hit up Starbucks, walked some more.  Talked non-stop, so easily, barely taking note of the stores we passed.  At one point, laughing so hard I feared springing a leak on the floor #vaginalbirth #toomuchinformation #mamaneedstodosomekegels, you would have thought we were old friends.  Just the kind of friend I feared I would never find out here.  So yeah, we really hit it off.  And I came home without one purchased item, yet I was wearing something new.  A big, fat, authentic cheesy smile .  The kind of smile you have when your cheeks ache from the perma-grin that comes from laughing your ass off...With a friend.