one of my favorite things
I have always known that I love to talk and that I love to be with people. So it is no surprise that one of my favorite things is to talk with people that I love to be with. However, this past weekend at my birthday surprise, I realized, more than ever, how much one of my favorite things is to be at a table with people who know me well and know each other well and for all of us to be talking and laughing.
This summer while in Texas, I was able to draw in my favorite friends from my past and have a "we're turning/turned 30" party. It was so great to catch up with each of them and share a moment of their lives. However, there was a point in my reflection of our time together that I realized that our collective "group" relationship really no longer exists. I know each of these women and love them dearly and keep up with their lives and share things about mine. But as a group we have less and less in common and will probably never all hang out together again. I know that could be a sad thing to say, but I have no doubts that we will always stay in touch individually. It's ok that our time as a group has past...such is the way of life.
This bemoaning of loss of a group friendship led me to wonder if I have allowed the group to be replaced. We have lived in NC for 6 years now, and I definitely think of it as home. I have fallen in love with the landscape, people and culture, as strange as it may be (side note: please see the movie Junebug and you will know what the heart of Carolina, and more importantly, the Triad area where we live, is like). But I had to ask myself, have I let people into my life? Do I have friends I can call my own?
Well, this past weekend was my birthday, and Chris took me to Raleigh as a surprise. We went to eat at our favorite restaurant, Twisted Fork, and when we walked in, I saw my good friend, Natalie, from Raleigh. I soon learned that my other friends from Raleigh were arriving as well. Oh, we had a great time, and as I leaned back and surveyed the table, our stomachs full from good food and wine, I realized, this is what I love and that I have let new relationships into my life.
We all know - it is never easy to start over. We wonder why it has to be done at all. And this dread of starting over often leads lovers to stay in unfit relationships or employees to stay at unsatisfying jobs, friends to hang on too tight to the past, or all of us to fear death. But starting over is a grace in and of itself. It forces us to reexamine what we were living for in the first place and why we are who we are. And when we finally abandon all of the past and throw ourselves into the present, we learn to create new life. It is a beautiful thing.
Believe it or not, we are closing in on the one year anniversary of moving to Mount Airy. It has been a rough year for sure, with the new environment one of the easiest parts. So I use these thoughts of starting over and finding myself at the table with my new friends to ask myself if I have immersed myself in the people I am surrounded by now. I look forward to the blessing of sitting at the table one day and realizing we have created new life. I pray the same for your life as well....may God give us the strength to invest in starting over...whatever "over" that may be.
This summer while in Texas, I was able to draw in my favorite friends from my past and have a "we're turning/turned 30" party. It was so great to catch up with each of them and share a moment of their lives. However, there was a point in my reflection of our time together that I realized that our collective "group" relationship really no longer exists. I know each of these women and love them dearly and keep up with their lives and share things about mine. But as a group we have less and less in common and will probably never all hang out together again. I know that could be a sad thing to say, but I have no doubts that we will always stay in touch individually. It's ok that our time as a group has past...such is the way of life.
This bemoaning of loss of a group friendship led me to wonder if I have allowed the group to be replaced. We have lived in NC for 6 years now, and I definitely think of it as home. I have fallen in love with the landscape, people and culture, as strange as it may be (side note: please see the movie Junebug and you will know what the heart of Carolina, and more importantly, the Triad area where we live, is like). But I had to ask myself, have I let people into my life? Do I have friends I can call my own?
Well, this past weekend was my birthday, and Chris took me to Raleigh as a surprise. We went to eat at our favorite restaurant, Twisted Fork, and when we walked in, I saw my good friend, Natalie, from Raleigh. I soon learned that my other friends from Raleigh were arriving as well. Oh, we had a great time, and as I leaned back and surveyed the table, our stomachs full from good food and wine, I realized, this is what I love and that I have let new relationships into my life.
We all know - it is never easy to start over. We wonder why it has to be done at all. And this dread of starting over often leads lovers to stay in unfit relationships or employees to stay at unsatisfying jobs, friends to hang on too tight to the past, or all of us to fear death. But starting over is a grace in and of itself. It forces us to reexamine what we were living for in the first place and why we are who we are. And when we finally abandon all of the past and throw ourselves into the present, we learn to create new life. It is a beautiful thing.
Believe it or not, we are closing in on the one year anniversary of moving to Mount Airy. It has been a rough year for sure, with the new environment one of the easiest parts. So I use these thoughts of starting over and finding myself at the table with my new friends to ask myself if I have immersed myself in the people I am surrounded by now. I look forward to the blessing of sitting at the table one day and realizing we have created new life. I pray the same for your life as well....may God give us the strength to invest in starting over...whatever "over" that may be.
posted by gnat @ 1:53 PM
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