I knew that Kate Bohner and I were going to be friends the minute I walked into her Tuesday morning yoga class at the Buddha Lounge in May. She was sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat at the front of the room, talking to a student about NYC. She was explaining that she had lived in Florida for over a year, and while she missed NYC, she was so happy in the Sunshine State, with no plans to leave. She kept looking at me and smiling warmly, and I even had the guts to talk to her and tell her that I was a transplanted New Yorker too.

Next, she told me she was a writer. Um, me too. We ended up even knowing some of the same people, like my life-changing professor Sue Shapiro from the New School, and had been at a lot of the same super-fabulous NYC events over the past 10 or so years. Just talking to Kate that morning made me feel happy. Plus, she shared a name with my bestie from high school AND my BFF from college, both of whom I still talk to on an almost daily basis. It just seemed so fitting that my new partner-in-crime down South would also be named Kate.

After class, we exchanged numbers and made plans to get a smoothie at the Nutrition Cottage AKA The Nut Hut. We met a few days later and I finally got to really know “Katie Bear.”

Not only was she a writer, but she had co-authored a best-selling book, had a news column at a major finance mag and had worked as a TV anchor for a financial news show. I was floored. She was actually a REAL writer, and at that moment, I felt that she had come into my life for a reason. On top of that, Kate had left that world behind to become a yoga instructor and work on a new book. Hellooooo? It was like a mirror image of how my career path was also changing.

We started hanging out a lot, usually meeting up for yoga classes a few times a week, many smoothies and a dinner here and there. But Kate was really busy during the day, writing a memoir about her amazing life. (It’s not bragging if it’s true.) Still, we hung out more than I saw anyone else except Michael, and naturally got really, really close.

Kate started flying up to NYC more often, meeting with her agent Larry, while I was gone a lot too, flying all over the country for weddings, and up to NYC to see friends and family. Somehow, our trips never overlapped and we would go weeks without being in Delray together, but Kate would always send me a text message every morning and night, wishing me an amazing day or to say goodnight. It was like we had been friends for years, when in fact our friendship had only flourished over the span of 4 or 5 months.

Then, after a trip to the Big Apple, Kate came home and dropped a bomb – she was moving back to New York City, in less than a month. I was in shock. We were so close and spent so much time together; how could she be leaving? And going to NY no less. I struggle every day to be happy in Florida, and now i was watching my friend pack up, head north and live the life I always expected to be living. It was selfish but it was how I felt.

But I knew that Kate was making the right decision for herself and had to go – her career  (and maybe even a new guy?) was waiting in NYC and she was ready to move on.  I was proud of her. Of course, I simultaneously feel into a dark hole, miserable about staying in Florida while she was leaving to follow her dreams. But either way, her passion and dedication to her new path was such an inspiration to me. Kate helped show me that I could follow my dreams and set off on my new path with courage and confidence.

Don’t get me wrong – there are a few things I like about living here. The winter weather does not suck and, sometimes, it’s actually refreshing to live a bit slower. There are even a handful of really good restaurants, even though they are all Italian.

Still, it hasn’t been easy for me to make friends since I moved. Maybe it was because I already have such an amazing group of people that I am still super close with in NYC. Or perhaps my crazy travel schedule was prohibitive, since I am never in Florida for more than 2 months at a time. Dinner plans? Does 6 weeks from now work?

I also had a strange situation. I clearly moved south for a guy and when I got here, he already had a group of friends. So it was easy for me to just sit back and adapt his crew as my own, Don’t get me wrong – these were all really fun, nice people and I really enjoyed meeting them and hanging out.

But being the super social person that I am, I felt that it was really important for me to go out and make some new pals on my own. I mean, doesn’t every girl need a friend she can vent to about how her husband leaves dirty clothes everywhere and never cleans up after himself? That’s tough when you’re closest friends are also his.

So here I had gone out, made an amazing new friend – and she was leaving. I was pretty much ok with it until the day she left. We had spent the weeks leading up to her move grabbing turkey burgers at Brule and continued our schedule of Barre class and lots of yoga. It didn’t feel like she was leaving because we were together so much. But I woke up on Sunday morning with a pit in my stomach. Kate was heading to the airport in a few hours, off to NYC. I was sad that I would never sit on the deck at Kate’s loft again, share tuna dip at Lemongrass or see her doing yoga in the front row at the Colony on Sundays. Her move was a shock to me not only because a friend was moving away but because I wasn’t.

No matter what, I am so happy for my friend, as she moves forward to the next big thing. I look eagerly forward to moving back to NYC sooner than later and having my 3 Kates in one place.

Of course, I am now accepting applications for the role of Florida BFF. The only prerequisite? Apparently, your name must be Kate…