Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Now you're just somebody that I used to know


I seem to spend my whole life missing people. Friends, family, even mere acquaintances. Whoever I’m not with at the time really. It is my total bugbear. My journey through this life, like so many others, has involved meeting amazing people, having amazing experiences and then moving on. On to a new place, new people, new experiences. These new little chapters in my story often emerge without me even really realizing at the time.

I must stress that I am extremely fortunate and have suffered very little loss when it comes to my loved ones. I must also stress that I am in a very happy relationship and have great family and friends around me. Somehow though, I always think about the people I no longer get to see (or see as much as I’d like to) and yearn to keep those relationships alive.


“Now you just say, oh Romeo yeah, I used to have a scene with him” (Dire Straits)


With exes it’s a clearer line I guess. You shared a close relationship that ultimately didn’t work out well, so you move on. But you will have shared many good times too. Most of these people, yes, must remain in the past and quite frankly stay there! But sometimes there are the rare one or two that manage to stay on the Christmas list aren’t there? The ones you still like to have the odd coffee with, they touched your hearts that bit deeper and reached best friend territory. Some of us manage to keep hold of a friendship post relationship. I am one of those. Well I am one of those that has certainly tried. I have struggled in the past with the concept that you should completely lose someone that once was so close to you.

Obviously though, these friendships can be complicated. Complicated by old feelings, new girlfriends/boyfriends, and sometimes alcohol (yes it’s a bugger). Over the years even the exes I hold dearest to me have become strangers. New relationships must be prioritized and ultimately complicated friendships become messy or just unnecessary and unwanted. Or like mine, with many other friendships, you simply drift apart. Oh the drifting. Where you gradually see each other less and less, and then not at all. Until one day you could walk straight past one another on a train platform, brush past one another shoulder to shoulder, each in their new chapter and not even recognize the other (yes this happened to me recently). It is a sad reality.


“All I do is miss you, and the way we used to be” (Dire Straits)


Yes exes, but childhood friends, University mates, work pals and family too…we all move on and away from one another, and in our new lives we’re all so damn busy. When did life become so busy? My phone is all too used to me sending and receiving the “Hello Stranger” messages. “Sorry it’s been ages, I’ve just been so busy” and the “I miss you, lets pop something in the diary” and ultimately nothing getting into the diary for at least another 3 months. Does any of this sound familiar?

I hate it.

However, short of building a beautiful little community in which all the people I have ever met and loved all live and work together so I can see them every day, I’m not sure there is a way around it. And let’s face it, there are lots more people out there to meet and love, so I suppose such a community would be a rather boring, small minded reality. I mean, if I hadn’t moved on from the first friends I met, I wouldn’t have met the next amazing set of friends and so on. Let’s not forget you do meet some arseholes along the way too and at least you can shake them off.


"Now and then I think of when we were together" (Gotye)


Now at the ripe old age of 26 I could count my close friends that I see regularly on my hands, and I’m using regularly pretty loosely. Even with my current bezzies it can be a struggle to find time in our busy schedules to simply just hang out. But we bloody well try.

So to all my lovely friends, old and new, near and far, just know this – I MISS YOU!! Let’s catch up soon, yeah?

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