When Friends Circle Back Around

I love how when you are in the military long enough, friends from past duty stations start circling back around to you. Though I’m not an avid social media user, I am thankful to have it. At times, it’s the only way I’ve discovered where old military friends land again. And sometimes they land with me…or near me….or I travel near them…or some interesting situation brings us back together.

There’s nothing like receiving a message from an old friend that exclaims, “Hey, are you still at (insert installation name)? I’m headed there!” And the fun begins! This is one of the sweetest aspects of military life.

Let me share a few of my friend experiences.

To start things off, we moved into our new home almost a year ago. A few months after we arrived, Faith, a good friend of mine, joined us. She and her husband coincidentally bought a house in our neighborhood – right down the road from us! Needless to say, Faith and I talk almost every day and our children play together frequently.

This is the fourth location we have been together!!

I can’t help but think: what if our mutual friend had never invited me to that coffee gathering eight years ago when Faith and I first met? Our paths would have crossed several times without us ever knowing. I would have missed out on such a good friendship that has blessed me in so many ways!

I’m sure there have been plenty of other people who I have been stationed with more than once, but we just never officially met. It makes me want to pour even more into all those who cross my path, because I just don’t know what fun we might find a little later down the road.

I went on a big road trip to visit family and friends several weeks back. I spontaneously texted my good military friend, Tammy, who I hadn’t seen in four years, and told her I would be passing nearby.

A couple of hours later, my four children and I were in her beautiful home and spent the morning with her precious crew. I met this special lady ten years ago through PWOC in Fort Irwin, California.

We later reconnected in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where we were again stationed together, and yet again in South Korea. I was overjoyed to see Tammy once more as I was driving through Kentucky this summer. This lovely friend and I were pregnant simultaneously and had babies one month apart; she was the one who helped me kickstart my homeschool journey; she cared for two of my children overnight while I was in a hospital overseas having my third child.

This incredible person has been a large part of my military life, and I couldn’t be more grateful we keep circling back ‘round!

I wasn’t keeping up with social media well, so it took my military friend Sue, to message me with some wonderful news. She had seen on Facebook that a mutual friend of ours, Karissa, was moving to where I am currently stationed. (This right here is an example of friends who keep up with me, and know to notify me of such things because I probably wouldn’t see their recent online posts!)

I reached out to Karissa, and shortly after she moved here, we got together. I had hoped to bless her family by inviting them to dinner while they transitioned. Instead, she insisted on blessing me by bringing me lunch, and if that wasn’t enough, she left me a full home-cooked dinner because she sensed my current life circumstances called for it.

I was beyond grateful!

This is one amazing military spouse to offer someone lunch and dinner while still trying to set up her own home! I first met Karissa (and Sue) through PWOC at Fort Irwin, California as well. It had been eight years since we had seen each other, and I am so glad we circled back ‘round!

I recently took another trip, this time to Fort Bliss, Texas. My good friend, Chasity, and her family are stationed there. Her children are best friends with my children, and we traveled to celebrate her son’s birthday. Chasity and I first met at a birthday party for a mutual friend in Yongsan, South Korea.

She sparked a conversation with me about curly hair and our friendship grew from there! A couple of years later, we found ourselves stationed in Miami, Florida together, where we, too, were pregnant together and watched each other’s children through OB appointments and hospital stays. Chasity and I have experienced many life adventures together, and I’m so grateful for the special bond our families have.

What’s even more fun, is another mutual friend of ours from South Korea recently moved to Fort Bliss. While there, I had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Abby and meet her growing family. I got to know Abby best when I invited myself on her random trip to Guam with our mutual friend while we were all stationed in South Korea. The wonders of Space A and mutual friends! Totally worth putting myself out there!

The adventures of Fort Bliss didn’t end there. While at Bliss, I reconnected with yet another friend I had met while stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea. Naomi and I first met during a spouse luncheon at Osan.

We both showed up with our baby girls in car seats, and their older siblings, in our efforts to get out of the house and better connect with others overseas. I’m so glad I encountered Naomi – a friendly face in my same phase of life – multiple little ones, new to an area, a little lost, a little overwhelmed.

We continued to connect at future Osan spouse luncheons, MOPS, and other events on and around base over the time we were there. How fun it was to recently meet and catch up on all that’s changed in the years we’ve been stationed elsewhere!

I feel so blessed to be living this adventurous life, where I meet people all over the place, and continue to reconnect in almost as many places (yes, there’s more I haven’t even mentioned here!) These ladies came into my life at just the right moments – I know this to be a “God thing,” as life would have been more difficult and less fascinating without them. I’m so grateful we have been able to pour into each other’s lives, and that modern day technology can keep us connected easily.

It’s not humanly possible to be involved in everything, but this has been my confirmation to pour into others when an opportunity presents itself. You never know where the road may lead a little further into the journey, and how much those friendships will mean to you.

Maybe you’re having a difficult time transitioning to your new duty station or finding your new best friend?

I hope reading this will encourage you to get out there, take advantage of the activities around you, and pour into those lives that cross your path. These special friendships will truly enrich your life experiences. Maybe it begins with a conversation about your hair, or maybe you’re just exhausted new moms together. Don’t miss your opportunity to press into those connections, because it’s a pretty sweet part of military life when those beautiful friends start circling back ‘round!

By LaVaughn Ricci, Military Spouse

*If you enjoyed this, you must read Friendship: A Reason, Season, and a Lifetime.