Praying Mantis Moments

Friends amaze me. The people from my past – the people that are in my current life. They all amaze me. The one I am thinking about tonight is Angela. I have a really freakin’ weird connection with Angela. When we were both married to Marines, living in Havelock, NC (it’s as exciting as it sounds) we were a major support system for one another. When it was time for me to move, we actually joked about how we weren’t sure how either one of us were going to stay married without the other one close by. We were both divorced within a year. I called her tonight and she laughed when she answered the phone. She said she had just thought about me calling her. I haven’t talked to Angela in probably 2 months. And these “coincidences” (I put them in quotes because I don’t believe in coincidences) happen all the time with her.

Angela told me the moment she knew that Andy was not the one for me. The moment is now referred to as the “praying mantis moment”. Angela and I were talking in the front yard one day and she bent down and picked up a praying mantis. I was a little freaked out, as I was not one to pick up bugs, especially ones that looked like that. After quite a bit of convincing, she got me to hold the insect. I was so excited that I ran to the door and hollered for Andy to come out. Irritated, he came outside to see what all of the commotion was and was not too thrilled to find that I had interrupted him to show him a “bug”. I think the exact response I got was “So what?”. As small of a thing that was for me to be holding that animal, it hurt to have him react that way. And even though I didn’t show it, Angela picked up on it.

The girl is amazing. I haven’t seen her in probably 6 years and every time we talk it is like we were together yesterday. We are polar opposites in many, many ways. Angela would prefer to never have to walk into a grocery store or restaurant again and grow her own food in the backwoods of New Hampshire, where I get nervous if I haven’t seen a McDonald’s in 2 miles. But for some reason, this girl and I really get each other.

I laugh thinking about the praying mantis now. It’s so symbolic to me. Makes me realize that certain things in a marriage or relationship aren’t that important. But you never know when something really is going to be important to that other person. It’s why it’s important to constantly be learning from them, talking with them, believing in them, and even when you aren’t feeling your best, show your support for them. Everyone has his or her praying mantis moments. I just hope when my next one comes around, in whatever form it is, someone loves me enough to recognize it, smile, and say, “That’s my girl”.