Monday, January 11, 2010

This is not an AHA report


Yes, I went to the AHA. No, I'm not going to blog it, except to say that I had a delicious breakfast with a fellow blogger and a long-time commenter, met up with friends who I see only a few times a year, grinned about my book being in the catalog, actually saw (but did not speak to) one stunningly handsome historian (!!!), ate too much, spent too much money, saw a few good papers, and contacted someone about big project.

Nope. The big thing on my mind is the recent departure of my fabulous neighbor. She & I moved into our cute little apartments right next door to each other within the same month. We were both new hires in our department, and over the years, we shared walks, soups, baked goods, frustrations, and the agony of the book & tenure process.

Fabulous neighbor is now engaged, and so this weekend, she finally took the plunge and moved in with her intended. I am happy for her, and it's not like she's died or anything. But anyone who's ever had a neighbor like this knows that the easy cameraderie and friendship is a rare and wonderful thing. It's the dilemma of the adult single woman: your friendships are precious, so rejoicing when one of your friends finds "the" person is always tinged with a sense of loss. I know how selfish that sounds, but I'm gonna let it stand, because it's true.

On a less personal note: I am also grieved to report that she was the local hub for a shared internet line. So my posting (and replying to others' posts) is going to be sporadic, at best.

6 comments:

Good Enough Woman said...

My sympathies for your neighbor loss. Proximity is such a wonderful thing in so many aspects of life--work, family, friends, school. It's always tough to lose proximity.

Belle said...

Oh yes, that is tough. Perhaps the new one will be nearly as good?

JaneB said...

Much sympathy - it's very difficult when other single friends cease to be single, however happy you are for them there's always a sense of loss, too. Hope you get a nice new neighbour!

Dr. S said...

You know I sympathize 100%. At least you've got the sun blazing at your hip. (Hott!)

And when you come back from your sabbatical, invest in internet--is what I say!

Historiann said...

I sympathize. They always say, "you're not losing a friend/relative," but rather gaining another friend/relative. . . But it's not true. You're losing that particular phase of your friendship, even if you remain friends.

I was happy for my BFF when she got married at age 35 a few years back--but it really made *my* life lonelier and a lot less convenient, since she was no longer available for coffee, walks, hanging out on the spur of the moment like she used to be. Harumph! Shouldn't all of my friends arrange their lives to accomodate ME?

Anonymous said...

I don't think this is uniquely the dilemma of the adult single woman, because I can certainly sympathise. A lot of my friends have 'gone' in this way over the last few years. May more be easily locatable on both our sides of the Atlantic!