Gone, baby, gone...

so P and D are officially boston bound. the movers came yesterday, they said their goodbyes to co-workers and friends, and P played some quality wii with hubby - they stayed with us last night and left early this morning for their cross-country vacation/roadtrip/adventure.

their departure has made me take stock of my whole situation because in a way, i'm here because of them. the long story of how i got here goes something like this: P and i were friends in high school and sporadically kept in touch during college. 11 years ago from this upcoming may, j and i (who were just dating at the time) did the walk for hunger in boston one saturday morning. about 200 yards into the walk, i saw P and called out his name - he was walking with his girlfriend (and future wife), D. the 4 of us walked the remaining 20 miles together and a few months later P moved into an apartment in beacon hill with j and sean-boy. later P moved to nyc with D, eventually got married, and about 3 years later heard from a friend from yale about a job opportunity to run a weight loss school. he accepted and so P and D left the (really) big city for this small, rural, farming community outside of fresno, CA. 2 years later - p's friend has another opportunity within the company that is right up j's alley. phil forwards it along to j and the rest is history...

so here i am. i moved out here without ever seeing the place. is it a great place to live? not for me. it's pretty much at the bottom of the barrel for me. i'm an east coast city girl and this place is on the opposite end of the spectrum from a place like boston. i don't regret the decision not to visit because i don't think i would have appreciated how much i would not fit in here over a week or weekend visit.

it took me living here to join the local mom's group, to attend the library storytelling hour, to interact with the shop keepers, and basically to meet people who grew up in the area and will never leave this area to get asked the question "DO YOU HAVE A CHURCH?"

it took me living here to respond "I'M CATHOLIC".

it took me living here to get an initial response of a strange, confused look as if they've never seen a white, catholic person in their life (which is very possible).

it took me living here to then find humor in them quickly offering to introduce me to a catholic friend of theirs (who most likely is mexican).

i thought the bible belt only existed in the south - but i'm learning...you hear alot about jesus out here.

initially, d was my only saving grace (no pun intended). here was a well educated (she's a lawyer), jewish, east coast woman in her early 30's. she was my oasis - she doesn't care to talk about jesus, she doesn't go to bible study, and she has great taste in clothes.

then one day at the park, i met monica - friend #2. she's great - her kids are essentially the same ages as mine (and are fast becoming best friends), she never asked me about my religion, and not only did she leave the area for college but she actually left the state of CA! ironically, her daughter has the same name as baby k and her newborn has the same name has T-man (she has 3 kids total). oh - and she and her husband are HUGE Notre Dame fans.

it turns out she is catholic (and yes, she is mexican). and i can't believe i'm writing this but i think part of the reason i am able to be such good friends with her is because we are the same religion. because even though i don't care and she doesn't care - all the mennonites and baptists around here DO care. and i just get the feeling that their religion is such as big part of their life that they don't have room for people who aren't of the same religion. don't get me wrong - people here are REALLY nice - scary nice in fact. they're good people but i am not one of them.

i'm extremely grateful that i've met monica here - she's a great friend no matter where you live. and with p and d moving, i am saying a few extra thanks to God for putting monica in my life ;)

maybe i'll fit in here afterall (it is april fool's day, right?)