When you leave a country and start a new life in another one across the ocean, some 10,000 miles way, you never really realize or fully understand, at the time, just how much you will miss your family and friends. You may argue that you will go back often to visit your family and friends and they will visit you but some 10,000 miles is a long way away and a very expensive plane journey. In my case it is 20 hours by plane if I include travelling from Florida to New York to take the 18 hour international flight. This actual flying time does not include airport check-in and waiting times; those can easily add on another 6 to 7 hours.
If any of your friends or family do visit it will be a brief one during which time they will be recovering from jetlag, be dashing to theme parks and sight seeing. It will never replace the frequent telephone calls and impromptu home visits when you lived in the same or nearby city. The times you called a family member or friend on a Saturday morning and said: "how about coming over for a barbeque tonight" and then, after a great time together at the barbeque, you would call a couple of days later and say: "remember our talk at the barbeque about that new boutique in the mall, how about us doing breakfast and that store together."
I got a text message from my brother and sister-in-law on Sunday May 30th saying they were watching the Comrades Marathon on television and it just wasn't the same without us there. For years I'd had had a champagne breakfast on Comrades Marathon day under umbrellas in our garden for about 25 people and thinking about these times, I immediately felt incredibly nostalgic.
A few weeks ago some friends of ours of some 26 years, called to say they were in Florida for a week and could we meet for a few hours. They were visiting family in Ft. Lauderdale and we agreed to meet in Ft. Pierce, the half-way mark between the two of us.
Not knowing where to go for lunch we agreed to meet just off the I-95 and decide from there. As it turned out, "just off the highway" was a trucker's stop called "Country Market" and it had clean restrooms, a charming restaurant and an appetizing buffet and we all agreed to look no further.
We slid into a booth, ordered something cool to drink for each of us and between serving ourselves from the buffet, we didn't stop talking for five hours. We were oblivious to anyone and anything around us. We caught up on each other's lives, remembered other times we were together, built businesses and solved the world's problems. Most of all though, we shared laughter and a camaraderie that only longtime friends could enjoy because of a friendship foundation built long ago. That friendship was taken up as if there had never been years since we last were in contact beyond a few emails per year and the yearly Christmas Card. It truly was a memorable day!
Those of you who do not have to rely exclusively on expensive air travel and can visit friends and family by car in another City or State, take a brief moment to give thanks for having them close enough so that four wheels will get you there. It really is very painful to have family and old friends across the ocean, some 10,000 miles away and be unable to see them for 10 years or more at a time.
That said though, I am pleased to have celebrated this 4th of July in Florida with my children and new friends and have made another collection of memories to look back upon and write about.