A Week of Thankfulness - Day 3
/
I always say that if I get through this stage of my life with any friends left it will be a miracle.
Because, when I think about it, I'm not always that great of a friend. I'm in a busy stage of life. My kids are teenagers and a pre-teen. There are no playdates. Very few moments of lingering over coffee with a girlfriend.
And if I'm really honest I'd have to say that I've become accustomed to my solitude. I like being alone. I like being at home. I've become more and more introverted as I've grown used to this life as a stay-at-home mom (I know, I've been doing this for a while now, but it took a few years to actually get used to it).
Worse yet, I have grown to hate the telephone. I rarely pick up the phone to call a friend because I wouldn't want to be a bother. An intrusion. Everyone else is as busy as I am, right? I prefer a quick text or an email or a Facebook comment.
But that's not communication, really. And in order to maintain friendships you have to communicate, right? I'll admit it, I'm just not good at this these days.
So today, I'm thinking about my friends, of whom there are many, and I am so grateful. I'm grateful for those texts and emails and Facebook comments that let me know people still realize I'm alive and well. I'm grateful for the occasional phone call, even if it is brief and to the point.
I'm grateful for the girls in my small group who meet for lunch most Wednesdays. If it were up to me, I'd stay home, but these girls get me out and keep us in touch with one another.
I'm grateful for those friends with whom I do occasionally share coffee. I love catching up with their lives and their kids, and these times together make me hopeful that someday I will still have friends when all of our kids are grown and out of the house.
I keep a quote on my desk, a beautiful card which my sister-in-law, Julie, made for me which says this: "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
This pretty much sums it all up for me. I am grateful for you, dear friends, every day.
Because, when I think about it, I'm not always that great of a friend. I'm in a busy stage of life. My kids are teenagers and a pre-teen. There are no playdates. Very few moments of lingering over coffee with a girlfriend.
And if I'm really honest I'd have to say that I've become accustomed to my solitude. I like being alone. I like being at home. I've become more and more introverted as I've grown used to this life as a stay-at-home mom (I know, I've been doing this for a while now, but it took a few years to actually get used to it).
Worse yet, I have grown to hate the telephone. I rarely pick up the phone to call a friend because I wouldn't want to be a bother. An intrusion. Everyone else is as busy as I am, right? I prefer a quick text or an email or a Facebook comment.
But that's not communication, really. And in order to maintain friendships you have to communicate, right? I'll admit it, I'm just not good at this these days.
So today, I'm thinking about my friends, of whom there are many, and I am so grateful. I'm grateful for those texts and emails and Facebook comments that let me know people still realize I'm alive and well. I'm grateful for the occasional phone call, even if it is brief and to the point.
I'm grateful for the girls in my small group who meet for lunch most Wednesdays. If it were up to me, I'd stay home, but these girls get me out and keep us in touch with one another.
I'm grateful for those friends with whom I do occasionally share coffee. I love catching up with their lives and their kids, and these times together make me hopeful that someday I will still have friends when all of our kids are grown and out of the house.
I keep a quote on my desk, a beautiful card which my sister-in-law, Julie, made for me which says this: "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
This pretty much sums it all up for me. I am grateful for you, dear friends, every day.
