The things that happen when I’m away:

I’ve got friends working 8 hour shifts, who have learned to tackle work and class schedules without forgetting how to breathe. I’ve got friends with marriage plans, promising to pause on the baby-raising. I’ve got friends who made no such promises, and are raising babies on their own.

The things that happen when I’m away.

I’ve got friends with schedules that conflict with our get-togethers and long nights of texting. We don’t talk much about boys or music anymore. We ask small talk questions like: how are you? They make me believe we’re constants, that we’ve settled into every day routines. I can’t wait for a time and place to see how we really are.

The things that happen when I’m away.

I’ve got friends often younger than myself. All I’ve got to show I’ve been living is a 2 year college degree, which I haven’t held in my hands yet. Oh, and I’ve got a driver’s license (no car). I’ve got plans to cut my hair this year. Nothing much when I feel like a mother who’s watching her children grow up at double time.

The things that happen when I’m away.

I’ve got friends who have learned what I take with bittersweet submission. The things that happen when I’m away are about moving, about living, about being. The details of our living are now our own.