Perth

Perth was a really good experience. It's a very pretty place; and this weekend, the place where a very long term friendship was mended.

Let me backtrack a little.

M. M, who I have known since I was 8, when we met at the caravan park we both used to go to every weekend (Back when there was such a thing as water in a lake). We used to write letters to our friends who lived over the other side of Melbourne and combined our first names, last names and addresses and found it funny (we read a couple we had received over the weekend, M is far more sentimental than I who never kept anything). M, whose world fell apart when she was 8 - her father was bashed over $10, had a stroke and passed away.

M and G are beautiful people. But they are at the opposite end of the spectrum to us these days. They have no children, are career focused; and they have some really beautiful stuff that they don't have to worry about getting broken by chubby little fingers. But, despite this massive difference in our lives, we remained close. M is the sort of person I never had to speak to every day; but would know she was around if I needed her. And vice versa. She was there for the birth of my kids; for my wedding; for my own world falling apart and coming together.

Over the last couple of years, M had started to get quite....distant. At first, I put it down to having very little in common anymore; but that label didn't quite fit what was happening to us. I, eventually, being so secure and all, put it down to our time running out and that any contact was more 'for old times sake'.

I'm not big on friendships for 'old times sake'. I don't like feeling that I am spoken to because it'd be too rude to not talk to me IYKWIM. So, I sent M a big email telling her that I loved her, that I would always love her; but she was free to go IYKWIM. The email I got back told me not to be silly, we were as close as ever, yada yada yada. 'OK' I thought; and we continued on.

A year to the day Saturday; M left. For Perth. No phone calls, no goodbyes, no kiss your butt; nothing. Just gone. It made no sense to me; in fact, I was positive something else was up. M couldn't go through term 1 of year 12 without having colour coded all her textbooks into subject (seriously, even her calculator had blue contact on it because it was for Maths); yet had gone to the other side of Australia without a job, house or anything else organised in 3 weeks.

I told her how hurt I was that she couldn't even say goodbye. And that I thought something big was going on with her; because this was just so...unlike her. She told me I was wrong. I knew I wasn't; but figured she didn't want to tell me. With all the unanswered emails and then the leaving; I was very much 'fuck it'. Fuck it, and fuck you.

Christmas eve came around last year with Rileys stitches, and all the other chaos that the day before Christmas brings for our family. M called; she was coming over at x time; we needed to talk. I didn't much care what she did by this point; she had hurt me immeasurably, had let me down countless times before; so I wasn't holding my breath for her to show.

2 hours after x time passed; no M. I made myself not live around what she was doing and continued to do whatever I was going to do; if she showed up now, then it was tough bikkies if I wasn't home.

She turned up. We had a light hearted banter and a couple of drinks; then she asked if we could talk. We went to the park next door with our glasses and had a chat.

Turns out, M has had a whole lot of stuff go on. Stuff that is not mine to broadcast; but suffice to say, I understood. I listened to her apologise for not feeling as though she could talk to me about it; but understood exactly why she didn't. She told me far more than was necessary and then left me to decide what I wanted to do.

So, decide I did.

And, I went to Perth to visit.

Even though it was 2 days, it was the best thing that could've happened. When I finally got in on Friday night, we stayed up all night talking. Laughing, crying; questioning and deciding. Saturday was a whole new start of our friendship; on a whole other level.

I am so glad I went. I had a ball; and I found my best friend again.