Movement

The days have ground to a halt.  It is hard to believe it has only been a few weeks since I was traveling through rural Michigan.  Working from home is making me realize I don't like my job.  I like the routine.  The job is just a place holder in my routines.  Those routines have broken down when will go back to normal?  The work is boring and unfulfilling but it pays really well and is apparently able to withstand pandemics.  Once again I feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge sitting on top of my money, home alone eating my cold gruel and haunted by the ghosts of my past.

When Tinkerbell broke up with her previous boyfriend back in 2013 she moved out near me.  Not to an area she was more familiar with, though she would never admit it, she picked this location to be close to me, someone she could trust.  For new readers, Tinkerbell and I briefly dated and lived together for a few months out of necessity on her part.  We were not a good couple but we are good friends. 

Tinkerbell called me yesterday to complain about her neighbors.  She owns an older townhouse style condo, built before the standards provide for more sound proof walls.  "Hey I am dropping my spare key off at your house,"  she informs me.  She has been spending most of her time at her current boyfriends house.  He lives on the other side of town, forty minutes away. 

She tells me they discussed moving in together.  He said now is the time to do it.  I am happy for her.  Her new boyfriend is a good guy and he is good with her son the T-Rex (who will be starting high school next year).  It won't happen soon.  Probably not till summer.  She still has things she want to finish.  She wants to rent her place out.

She stopped in for a second.  I kept me distance and handed her a Diet Coke with sanitary wipes.  She doesn't take the virus or me being sick seriously.  Am I a hypochondriac?  Tinkerbell didn't stay long.  I wanted to ask her too but given social distancing rules it didn't seem like a good idea.

When she left, I found myself sad.  Her moving away hits me on several levels.  It is like having your oldest go away to college.  Its like so many others who leave because they do not need you any more.  For a person who is more comfortable being needed than wanted, it is a heavy blow.

And it's happened once again
I'll turn to a friend
Someone that understands
Sees through the master plan

But everybody's gone
And I've been here for too long
To face this on my own, well I guess this is growing up
Well I guess this is growing up  Damnit, Blink 182