all life is change (2)

Just found out that a writing-friend whom i've just started getting to know over the last year or so will be moving away from Sg and back to her native country at the end of the year. Ah so.
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Strange, how unaccountably ... well, 'sad' is not quite the word. One can't be sad about an acquaintance-ship built (if 'built' is even a word that can be used here) on just a few conversations, one group dinner, and an intuitive sense that we could possibly be good friends, if we had enough time. i guess, it's just that i'd never thought she'd leave so soon. She's part of the pioneer team that started the first university-level creative writing programme here in Singapore, and from what i know of her, she's the steady, stable type, the kind of person who makes long-term plans and sticks to them. i've seen her teach before -- she's good at it. i guess i'd just assumed that as a pioneer, she was pretty invested in the programme and would stick around for a long long time to come. i'd expected that the programme was going to continue being run the way she's been running it, and that this was going to go on for a long, long time.
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She's just announced that she's pregnant, too -- another major life change for her. It must be pretty exciting for her right now, preparing for the move, preparing for the baby's arrival.
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Things like this shake me more than they should. When people whom i've counted on to be around, suddenly up and leave. Well, in this case, 'suddenly' is not the right word. She's probably been planning the move for ages. But it looks sudden to me. i think, the shaken-ness has to do with expectations and assumptions about the way things are and will be.
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This is a good reminder of what i've known, from personal experience, for a long time now: life changes fast. Everything can change in a minute. And sometimes you just have to hang on tight and try to enjoy the ride.
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