1.20.2011

Hot Chocolate & Tea.

I love moments of unexpected gratitude. I wish there were more. Perhaps that’s something I need to work on, if it's even something I can create. Anyhow, last night, I was delivered one of those in the form of female friendship.

I’m sure if I were to graph my female relationships over the years, the line would prove to be relatively constant, save a few blips here and there. I usually keep friends pretty close, and for long periods of time. I had just a couple of close girlfriends during high school, and the same for college. Even in graduate school, I gravitated towards just one or two people. It’s only recently that I’ve missed those super tight bonds. Through some growing pains, I’ve realized that some of my friendships have evolved. The way they existed in the past, is not what they are today. And I’m alright with that. Finally. There was definitely a healing process, and even a kind of mourning. I wouldn’t say that those friendships that have changed are gone, they’re just different. On the other side of the coin, friendships that fell victim to the wake of my own self-discovery during college have been resurrected. That has been lovely. The friend I called my best in high school, is now again part of my life. We’re slowly building back our bond, and while it takes time, it has been worth the effort—cause honestly, that friendship never really died.

We’re having some friends over for dinner on Saturday, friends we haven’t seen in a long while. Friends that would probably argue that they saw us more when we lived in California. I’m looking forward to it immensely. We were able to host other friends over the holidays, twice, and thinking back on those evenings at the table, eating, laughing, and just being together in communion was incredibly fulfilling.

Last night I had "coffee" with a new friend. I met her through work, in fact she’s the mother of one of my students, and I have been drawn to her ever since. We spent two hours chatting about our lives over hot chocolate (a treat to myself – YUMMY!), and some tea. It was comfortable, and oddly familiar. I’m excited about my new friend and looking forward to more chatter traded over mugs of hot deliciousness.

As I left the little coffee shop, hidden among a street lined by drool-worthy homes, I was struck by how lucky I was to have such wonderful friends, especially the women in my life. How important it was/it IS to foster these friendships in whatever capacity they breathe.

Friends are totally rad.

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