Ok. So in the last three days, a couple of truths have hit hard.
One: I don’t have many friends. Oh, don’t be sad for me. I just find it kind of funny. On my way home from visiting with family, I called a friend who had promised to help me get the rats home from the boarding facility. Their cage simply does not fit in my small vehicle. Well, something unexpected came up with my friend, and I didn’t want to be a bother. So, rather than making her life more complicated, I offered to find another person to help me.
AuburnChick looks at the phone…flips it open…and NOTHING! Ok…I’ll call…?????. Nobody’s name comes to mind. Are you kidding me? I can’t think of even one person’s name? Nope. Uh oh. Am I going to have to pay someone to keep my rats while I sit perfectly happy at home…all because I can’t find someone to help me? Grrr… I briefly consider stopping at the gas station and making a new “friend.”
Fortunately, my one friend calls me back with a solution. She called another friend, who just happens to be one of our co-workers (we work at the same place), and she’s going to help me. So, AuburnChick gets to borrow her friend’s friend for a day.
Anyhow, my rats got home safe and sound.
Now, the second hard lesson I’ve learned recently is that I’m getting old.
Yes, I know, I know. I should have listened to my daughter all of those times that she made statements referring to this point.
So…how did I figure this out?
Simple.
Guitar Hero 3.
See, AuburnChick’s mom was kind enough (yeah, right) to give AuburnChick’s son this game for Christmas. Well, AuburnChick has a sister who decided that she really digs the game. So, said sister dear and AuburnChick’s daughter decide to have a Guitar Hero 3 Girls-Only Tournament.
Great…
I mean, it’s not like I’ve never played video games or anything. I spent my share of time in front of the Atari and Nintendo. Donky Kong and Frogger were my friends. Simply press the right arrow and the Go button. Piece of cake.
Not so with the new stuff that’s out today.
Well, out of the goodness of their hearts, AuburnChick’s kin very kindly let me have a practice song or two, in which I tried desperately to memorize the order of the keys…green, yellow, red…or is it red, yellow, green? Anyhow, I did o-k-a-y, and so the tournament began. Well, people, I guarantee you that AuburnChick invented a new way to play the guitar. The only way I could get my fingers to sometimes press the correct buttons was to position my left hand behind and over the top of the handle-thingy at the top.
Yeah, it was ugly, but it kept me in the game for a little while…until the seemly slow song ramped up for a tortuous 12 minutes!!!! My wrists were KILLING me! I finally started pressing all of the buttons at the same time, unwilling to give up but praying that the game would…finally…END!! And it did.
I lost, by the way…my dream of becoming the next Guitar Hero Diva down the toilet.
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AuburnChick's Adventures 
I know exactly what you mean- but, what I think is missing aren’t ‘friends’ but.. friends that you can call at 3 am, pick up you when your car breaks down, goes with you when you need moral support/etc. Those kinds of friends… the real kind.
I think that we’ve lost a lot in our society in the past 10 years or so.. a connection to others, kindness towards others? Most people are too busy with their own lives and don’t have room for others and as you get older .. it is harder to make friends when you move to a new place.
Last year, I felt the same way- I had only been here for less than a year. I had to be admitted to the hospital for pneumonia and I was too weak to try to drive to the grocery store alone — much less try to walk around shopping w/out fainting or being dizzy and fall down. But, I couldn’t think of a single person to call to help me out. I had a lot of acquaintances– but, no one who would really, really not mind helping me out.
And, yet on the other hand.. I’m the person you call ‘if you need’ help.. because others know that I will help those in need.
Thanks, Jeannie! You are so right! I remember once having to go to the emergency room for what turned out to be a ruptured cyst on my ovary. My husband took me, along with both of our children. He called my best friend to help out, but she could only do it for a couple of hours. So, in effect, he had to go back and forth several times. I would have incorporated those kids into whatever schedule I had that day. But, God gives people different gifts. Some people are more inclined to step in and help, and others simply don’t think about it.
Once, after moving away from all of our family, I took my children to Wednesday night dinner at the church we had recently begun attending. This was the first time I had stepped out with them, by myself, in our new town. I met a nice lady with children close in age to my own, and we clicked. We exchanged phone numbers, discovering that we lived very close to one another.
The next morning, my husband woke up so sick that I had to take him to the emergency room. I called my brand-new friend, who took care of my kids, even my son, who was still in diapers, for the entire day. She didn’t ask questions…just was there for me. I will never forget that.
Thanks for you comments!