Tonight, I wished my friends Viva and Peter well as they begin their new life as a married couple, driving cross-country to their new Oregon home and a fantastic new job.

And of course, I’m terribly sad, because though Viva and I have been friends since college (thanks, Lisa!), we’ve become particularly close in the past couple of years, ever since Viva moved back to Boston. But as much as I’m going to miss her, I’m super excited about her new opportunities – she deserves every single one of them, and me being selfish shouldn’t take away from that.

So instead, I’m going to add Viva to my growing list of close friends who I adore but don’t see very often. You know, the ones that you see and you can fall back into conversation with after months (or years!) apart without missing a step. For me, that list includes high school friends and college roommates, folks like Jade, Michelle and Lisa, with whom I go years between visits but it never seems to matter when we get back together. The real question is – who’s going to keep me well-fed? None of my other friends cook like they do!

In the meantime, there’s always Scrabble on Facebook to keep us connected.

So Bon Voyage, Viva and Peter. I can’t wait to hear about the trip. Maybe I’ll send you a copy of The Oregon Trail to keep you occupied.