The good that comes from 'The Ex'-factor


My friend Milly


Milly became a friend during a chapter of my life now titled ‘The Ex’. She was a member of the motorcycle group with my ‘ex’ and I met her while they were doing a tour of Tassie.  There were many good things that occurred during that chapter, but by far meeting Milly was the best. Milly is now a main character in my life’s story. 
To me Milly is more than a friend, she is a sister. She is part of my family, and has her own relationships with them, including my nieces, who class her as an aunty. 
She’s a Tasmanian now, but she hasn’t always been. It’s nine years since she took the big leap and moved to Tassie. I am still in awe of her just making a decision like that and moving over by herself.
The other Girl has been pestering me about my Milly-dates. She knows every six weeks or so, I have breakfast, generally in the same place, with Milly.
We have a commitment to each other and our friendship. It is our time to catch up. Even though Milly is a sister to me, like a lot of family, we don’t see enough of each other. We both have very busy lives and what I love is that there is a ‘no pressure approach’ to our relationship. My mum has always said that the true mark of a friendship is if you can catch up after not seeing each other for weeks/months/years, yet it feels like just yesterday when you were together. I apply this measure to Milly.

Our breakfast catch-ups are a time for us to cry, laugh, reminisce and tell stories of each other’s adventures. It’s a shared history that is alive in our present.

Milly knows that just being there is sometimes enough, and boy has she been there for some recent hard times my family has gone through.  Sometimes there are no words, sometimes she just sits with me and my family.  For some, it may seem like just silence in a room, but for me it is so much more.  These are the times when my world feels more secure knowing she is just there, there if I need to talk, there if I need a shoulder to cry on, there if I need a hug. 
That’s Milly, and that’s why every six weeks we have breakfast together, catching up like family.
Our usual catch up place is Coffee Club at Northgate, Glenorchy. They do an awesome Omelette for this Girl, the omelette connoisseur, and a mean Eggs Benedict which is a favourite of Milly’s.  We go there because we feel like a part of their family. The chef always says hello, and should we try something different from the menu, comments that we’re not having our usual.  In fact, once Milly went there with another friend and the chef asked her if the other Girl knew she was there without her!