One of the hardest things about this place is the moving. This particular post doesn't have a supporting community (i.e., it's not actually IN a city). That's alright in some ways (very few), but it also means that there is little continuity in the community here. Everyone you meet that stationed here, you know will be moving in (most likely) 2-4 years, depending on what their job is and their orders and so on. In a regular post closer to or in a city, there will be many more people that you meet not connected to the military, people who choose to live in that city and plan on being there for many years to come. Not that we don't have people working on post who commute up from our closer towns (45 minutes and 1 hr 20 min away, respectively), but many fewer than in a post IN a city.
I am just mentioning this little ramble today, because yesterday another good friend left the desert for greener pastures (and I mean that literally - anywhere's greener than here!). We thought we'd have them here until the spring, but good news came through for their orders, and they were out of here more quickly instead. Good for them, but it means we do start missing them earlier than we expected.
Now that we've actually been here a few years, we're starting to lose our social circle. Military moves come seasonally (for the most part), and the last few rounds of moves really haven't affected us. This spring though, we've been hit hard, with a lot of friends heading on to their next duty station. I know if I lose any more key people from my social circle here, I'm going to be very depressed. It's hard to rebuild important social outlets when you know your own time left on a post is relatively limited. Takes a while to really build your social network at a new place, and by the time it's nice and comfortable and established, people start scattering again! It's good for them, moving on with their careers, new opportunities and all, but it just means there are more people to keep in touch with electronically than in person. It's like that joke, "I love my computer, because that's where all my friends live"!
There is a superstition at this post that if you stop at the main gate as you drive away for the last time, and give the coyote statue there a farewell kiss, then you won't get stationed here again. Just an average superstition like any place has. But those of us still left at this post have started joking about being left behind, "If we see one more person post on Facebook about kissing the coyote...!"
Just a moody little posting today, really feeling the come and go of friends, feeling a little lonely, and needed to ramble.
I am just mentioning this little ramble today, because yesterday another good friend left the desert for greener pastures (and I mean that literally - anywhere's greener than here!). We thought we'd have them here until the spring, but good news came through for their orders, and they were out of here more quickly instead. Good for them, but it means we do start missing them earlier than we expected.
Now that we've actually been here a few years, we're starting to lose our social circle. Military moves come seasonally (for the most part), and the last few rounds of moves really haven't affected us. This spring though, we've been hit hard, with a lot of friends heading on to their next duty station. I know if I lose any more key people from my social circle here, I'm going to be very depressed. It's hard to rebuild important social outlets when you know your own time left on a post is relatively limited. Takes a while to really build your social network at a new place, and by the time it's nice and comfortable and established, people start scattering again! It's good for them, moving on with their careers, new opportunities and all, but it just means there are more people to keep in touch with electronically than in person. It's like that joke, "I love my computer, because that's where all my friends live"!
There is a superstition at this post that if you stop at the main gate as you drive away for the last time, and give the coyote statue there a farewell kiss, then you won't get stationed here again. Just an average superstition like any place has. But those of us still left at this post have started joking about being left behind, "If we see one more person post on Facebook about kissing the coyote...!"
Just a moody little posting today, really feeling the come and go of friends, feeling a little lonely, and needed to ramble.
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