Facing the Inevitable

There is only two things that are sure in the military - you will move and you will deploy. Ugh. Right now I am facing the inevitable - again - the loss of a friend. It is so hard to move to a strange place, develop a strong connection with another person only to lose them just a short time later. Yet that is what we do every two and a half years or so. It's the part of the military that I like the least. Rationally I realize that when a friend moves, or I do, it doesn't mean that we are no longer friends, but I still miss that person.
I see other women who have lived in the same area all their lives, had the same friends since grade school, and I experience a pang of regret for what my life could have been. I look at their deep roots and it is one of the rare occasions where I feel envy.
Last night I had to say goodbye to another friend. Or at least it was good bye for now. Submarines are a very small community and often you run into the same people over and over again, sometimes whether you want to or not.
I have a coping mechanism that I call "the Scarlett O'Hara" - you know, I won't dwell on that today but I will think about it tomorrow. Sometimes I put facing up to difficult things for so long that I can't put it off any longer. Today is one of those times. I don't want my friend to move, but I know that it will happen whether I want it to or not.
Thank goodness for e-mail!!!!! I don't know what I would do without the Internet and my blog to help me feel connected. So for now, I say fair winds and following seas, until we meet again....