O Happy Day

I'm thrilled beyond words. I'm having old friend influx for the next few months.

See, I moved to Austin 12 years ago this month. I love Austin; I love my friends here. Granted, many of them were The Man's to begin with, but I have a way with other people's friends. You see, I like to take them, and make them MY OWN. Perhaps that's my other superpower (besides Song Stuck in Your Head Girl; that's for another post altogether). I'm Friend Stealing Woman.

But, I did have friends of my own before I met The Man; unfortunately, there's not a lot of empirical evidence to prove it, because nobody ever sees these people...sadly, that usually includes me. Work, family, and financial constraints usually keep us pretty well close to home, for the most part, and other than mandatory trips to KC for the Biannual Family Visit and Annoyfest, I don't get out to see too many people.

Really, though, people used to like me when I wasn't Married With Two Children Girl. (No, scratch that; I'm not super in that respect at all.) I used to be Mags, she of wearing of the black, she of dancing at the clubs, she of staying up all night drinking while simultaneously writing an essay for the take-home midterm. There was Twin Peaks, and Ren and Stimpy, and 120 Minutes...oh, there was, there was. There was Anita, and Connie, Trish, Erin, Inga, Melissa, Chuck, Chris, Tom, April, Brian, Dana, Alycia, that one guy with the runny nose, the guy with the one crossed eye, the other guy with the long hair...there were many. I miss them all. (Well, not so much the last few...actually, forget those bastards altogether.)

But, there appears to be a happy confluence of my past and present approaching. (Is this the Age of Aquarius? Has Jupiter aligned with Mars?) First up, I head to Denver next week to see Anita, and see the baby. And the big boy. I haven't laid eyes on the baby yet, or Anita in two years, and the boy in four years. Far too long, I say. Next up, Connie comes to town for a girls' weekend, in which there will be B&Bs in Fredricksburg, good restaurant visiting, margarita drinking, and shopping. (NO KIDS on this little outing, I state emphatically. Sweet!) Coincidentally, Chuck will be arriving in San Antonio that same weekend, and we're having dinner and drinks one night. Also, I booked my Xmas flights home to KC, in which Erin and Tricia will also be during that time.

I miss my old people. We're too far away geographically...but, though I always fear for the growing away in our hearts, somehow I always feel the old joy again when we get together. Thanks for being there for me, lo these many years. I hope I'm giving back what I'm receiving from you.

Now, can I convince any of you to move to Austin? OK, so it's 102 outside, and it hasn't rained for over a month. And, it's expected to stay that way until...say, October/November. That's not a problem, is it? I'm here, after all...won't that make it all OK? Don't I bring all the weather you need into your life?