Takes One to Know One

Ever get the feeling that whatever words are coming out of your mouth have recently become "white noise" for the listener? People w/out allergies don't act totally annoyed when I mention it off handedly, they just tune me out, turn me off. No, it's not all I talk about and yes, nut allergies do exist outside of my imagination. Nobody really wants to talk about them unless they have 'em. And its seems that no matter how common food allergies in general have become, they're not common enough to keep my friends that don't have them as friends still. I remember an old friend that finally had her first baby who had some mild GERD. Even though this friend was pretty aware that my Pumpkin's GERD was so severe, she required a feeding tube for months and surgery, etc., all this friend could think of when her baby was prescribed Zantac was...'oh yeah, I think leah mentioned something about this...'. Ummm, hello? Were you even listening? It's kind of a big deal when you spend weeks in the hospital with a new baby. Does anyone listen any more or give a crap about stuff outside of their little world? I mean, really give a crap? I'm almost scared to ever bring up these things that are such a big part of my life for fear that I might lose another friend. Now, I rarely talk about them anymore, and feel almost bad for bringing them up b/c I know it doesn't directly involve the other person...um, rediculous, but true. When did we become an "all about me" America? Even parents who tote their babies & young children around at Target around 9/10 o'clock at night, same deal...yeah, this may be a good time in your schedule to do some shopping, but your kids belong in bed!! Hello?!

Recently, I've rediscovered the joy of new friendships w/ old friends I've held at arms length for one reason or another. We're more similar than I first recognized, which may've been why we didn't quite 'click' before. It's really a breath of fresh air and support, and I'm glad for the revisited friendships that were almost never were, but I wonder if the friendships I used to value were ever really friendships at all...why didn't I see this before?