My address book is a mess. Pages are covered in scribbles, Wite-Out and Post-It notes. Every time I open it, change-of-address cards fall out. And pretty soon I won’t have any spots left for new entries.
I’ve had this book for about 10 years now, and I keep telling myself it’s time to get a new one, to start over, to write only in pencil that can be erased. But I just can’t do it. This address book, scribbles and all, reminds me that I have friends all over the world.
That’s why this week’s quote makes me think of my military spouse friends that are scattered all over the place:
The world is round so that friendship may encircle it. -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
As MilSpouses we meet a lot of people. We move and meet some more people. Those people move away and we meet more people moving in. This means that eventually address books look like mine, Christmas cards arrive late because they had to be forwarded somewhere else and we periodically receive emails from friends we haven’t seen in years with the subject line, “Where in the world are you?”
It also means that we have friendships that encircle the world.
I love knowing if I ever wanted to take a trip to Florida, Tennessee, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, California, Texas, Washington state, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Japan, Guam, Holland, Belgium and pretty much anywhere in the state of Virginia, I would have a military spouse friend to stay with.
I love knowing if I have a problem, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, I have a friend in one time zone or another who is still awake and available for a phone call.
I love that military life has introduced me to these friends and has allowed me to maintain these friendships with a bond that can’t be broken just because we’re a plane ticket apart.
I love reliving the progression of those friendships every time I open my tattered address book and an envelope with a highlighted return address falls out.
And I feel pretty darn lucky to be a part of the military spouse community. Because when it comes to military spouses, friendship truly does encircle the world.
