Picket Fences

I have received a message from my closest friend in the U.S. inviting us over for a holiday. It's been a long three years since we've not seen each other apart from the odd phone calls which happens ?once or twice a year. She and her brood are the sweetest bunch ever and I loved them all to bits. Our friendship started way back in Singapore where we have the same passion for shopping. Always without fail, when we shop, we were each other's guilty conscience. And more often than not, we were always the guiltless shoppers. Wala pa kasing credit crunch nun. We spent too much time together just hanging out, sharing our diet secrets (even hiding the diet gel under the pillow from friends!); bought the same style of Nike trainers after we got our first gym membership card but not used it since after we went home with aching muscles and sore backs; and was caught at Malaysian Immigration for buying a rucksackfull of pirated VCD's (there's actually more to it but I'm not spilling the beans!)
We had a few chances to meet up when we both moved here in England and have shared the same adventures and misadventures (like Punting at the back of Cambridge's Colleges). We used to visit them in Cambridge for a short overnight stay but still, the time spent together was all worthwhile. When they decided to move to the U.S., I was crestfallen. But seeing them all too certain about their plans for the future, I felt that there is no turning back for them and just wished them all the best.
Now, they're all settled in the US surrounded by white picket fences and enjoying the warm Californian sunshine. I can almost feel a bittersweet smile etching on my face as I took the trip down memory lane and remembered the things we did together and things we did differently but planned together, then. They may be distance away from us but they're the sort of friends that are worth keeping and they will be always in our hearts.
Definitely next year, we'll see you and we'll paint your white picket fences red ;)


At Hull Marina


At Cambridge