Nothing lasting forever

I lost a friend yesterday.

Well, I didn't lose him. He didn't die. We didn't fall out. But he did move, and I'm not just talking about up the road, I'm talking about 70 miles down south. Which in fairness is quite a bloody long way, not exactly somewhere you can just pop in between nipping to the shops for a paper, a bag of Skittles and some poppers.

So yeah, by Monday he'll be gone.

And it's just got me thinking about the passage of time, how life changes, all that philosophical stuff most folks don't ponder day by day because of how quickly life travels by. Adam is one of those mates I thought would always be around, you know? We've been buds now for nearly 6 years and (though I dislike the term), I'd count him as one of my three best male friends. 9/10 we were going out, it's assumed he'd be there. For ages we were 'cinema buddies' and saw copious films. Sometimes I'd just pop over to Wolves in the day to have a pint and play some pool. I can't do that anymore now because he's not there. To me, that feels like a loss because despite the fact we'll always be mates, it's never going to be the same.

This sounds awfully selfish of me, to be fair. I'm actually supporting his decision to go south (sexual pun intended!) because it'll really benefit his future. It's the right choice for him. For those he leaves behind, it just highlights the old adage that nothing lasts forever. I always used to hear that from my mother growing up - how friends change, people move on. I never really believed it until the last few years. Now, I've started seeing people travel or get engaged or uproot and move away and I realise the journey of life is all about adapting, isn't it? About enjoying the moment, the now, because good times and good people aren't going to be there forever.

I'm very happy with my circle of friends right now. Last night - in a big night out seeing Adam off - a good 20 of us were out and they're all great people. So in Adam going, I'm reminded to make the most of them as much as I can because the day is going to come when they move to Wycombe or Manchester or the moons of Saturn and I won't be able to. It's a lesson maybe we should all learn.