End of an era...

When I moved to Dallas in 1999, I was scared, yet excited about starting a new life. I assumed I'd get teaching, get involved in a church, and teach for awhile. A year went by...and I was still happy. Loved my job...loved my apartment...and I was loving life. I'd even picked up a second job on a labor/delivery floor of a local hospital. It was a great life. Then, something started to prod at my heart..."This isn't what you're supposed to be doing. Don't be satisified with the ordinary...go for the extrordinary" The summer before what would end up being my last year of teaching, I decided that teaching wasn't going to be a long term career. I wanted to be a nurse. I knew I couldn't afford to do it on my own, especially since I was going to have to quit teaching. I needed a rescue. That rescue came in the form of one of my friends from college deciding to move to Dallas and go to school. At the time, she wanted to be a nurse, too...or so she thought. We poured over the apartment guidebooks and the internet, scouring for that perfect dual apartment. I was excited because I was getting a roommate, she was excited to be out of East Texas. We found jobs at the same hospital, only 1/2 mile away from our apartment. She moved to Dallas...and the fun began. She had a dog, I got a dog. The next years were filled with LOTS of school, lots of vacations, and generally a lot of laughter. Some of the time my sister joined us...sometimes my brother. We even rescued a couple of dogs...Heidi went to live with my grandma and Oliver stayed around here. We changed apartments twice, went to live in the duplex with the worst insulation, and finally moved to the absolute suburbs to another house. 10 years I have known this woman. We've seen each other through the hatred of our first year of acquaintance...straight through to this growing up part where we move apart and open another part of our lives. She has always been there for me, and I know that even though she's in a separate place, she'll always be there for me...whenever I need her. Our dogs, which are like our kids, have grown up together and will always need to see the other. I'll always stay in contact with her, even though she sometimes not-so-secretly fears that I won't. We'll get our own places, our own new sets of friends, and at a point hopefully sooner than later, our own families. Things will change...separation always does that to people. BUT...to you, oh wonderous friend, some things will never change. I'll always remember that you were there for me through all the boy heartaches. We'll still travel and our puppies will still see each other. You'll always be one of the first people I call when good things happen...when I get that elusive ring or have that even more elusive offspring. You can't disappear...and I won't let you.