closure

I had a friend once whom I loved as dearly as a sister. For years we celebrated every small triumph and commiserated with eachother after every disappointment. We had always been on the same wavelength and shared a strong, effortless bond - the kind of bond one feels will last forever. And then my friend disappeared off the face of the earth. One day we were texting eachother about Alias reruns, and literally the next day, my friend vanished. For over a year I tried contacting her via letter, email, phone, SMS, Facebook, family, and friends - all to no avail.

It would be a monstrous understatement to say that my friend's absence from my life hurt. Her sudden and unexpected refusal to have anything to do with me was a blow so painful it still takes my breath away. Not so much because it felt like a betrayal of my trust and the memory of all the experiences we shared, but because to this day I do not understand what precipitated this estrangement. A part of me (a very naive, childish part) likes to believe that my friend's longtime dream has come true: that a covert government agency (or even the FBI) has recruited her and that she is now kicking bad-guy ass like a blonde Sydney Bristow or uncovering conspiracies with a Mulder-esque partner, and is not allowed to contact her old friends (for security reasons, of course!). But no matter how elaborate my fantasies, I can't rationalise away the hurt, because in the end, I never got closure. And ultimately, that's what I struggle with the most.

So in the interest of closure, I thought it only fair that I should write this one last post - a farewell of sorts. As of today, I will no longer update this blog. As much as I have loved sharing my life with you, I simply don't have the time for regular updates anymore (as you have all already noticed, I'm sure).

This is my last year in Kuwait, and in addition to the massive relocation effort that looms ahead of me, I am writing for a local magazine, trying to complete my first historical non-fiction book, and dealing with all the responsibilities of a teacher and administrator. Oh, and did I mention that this sailing season is busier than ever? Racing, skippering, teaching novice sailors, and helping to run the club is almost a full-time job in itself. Of course, there's also icing on that cake: we were invited to Abu Dhabi for the Volvo Ocean Race, so my winter break will be spent in a most enjoyable manner.

And on that note, I want to wish each and every one of you health, wealth, and happiness - thank you for reading my ramblings... you were a patient and indulgent bunch, indeed.

XO