Maintaining friendships benefits everyone involved.
Take Pen to Paper: Edition 29 - Use your tools to stay connected or reboot your friendships.
“I appreciate you arranging this get-together.”
We were walking out of a local eatery after a fun visit with another friend. I was glad I had arranged it, too.
Friendships have worked their way up to the top of my priority list.
We quickly reboot our computers or routers when there’s a glitch with technology. What about our friendships?
When things don’t go our way or we don’t get immediate reinforcement, we start doubting. ‘My friend is too busy for me.’ Worse, ‘they’re tired of my company.’ ‘They’ve forgotten me.’ Or, ‘it doesn’t matter.’
I’ve had those thoughts.
I’m also guilty of letting friendships fall by the wayside.
Unlike most of my friends, I’ve moved a lot. They have had a hard time keeping up with me. Not knowing my address, my friends who are great at sending season’s greetings (I’m not) have had to work hard to find me.
Age and retirement have given me a new perspective.
I'm making an effort to maintain and rekindle friendships.
I am determined to stay connected with my work friends, like the one I met with who expressed her appreciation. Of course, I do it as much for me as I do for my friends.
Am I doing enough? What about those friends I’ve lost contact with? Last week I received a card from a college friend I lost contact with years ago. I was so excited that she hunted me down! We had the best phone conversation.
The experience left me determined to reconnect with other friends I’ve lost contact with. I’m starting with a friend I haven’t spoken with in four years. She has a birthday this week.
We all want to belong. We all want to know someone is thinking of us.
As I’ve aged, I realize I have missed opportunities to foster community with my friends near and far. Now is the time to do that.
We know how it feels when others reach out to us. We shouldn’t hesitate to do the same for others.
We lose nothing by putting forth effort. We lose relationships with no effort.
7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good
You may find these two graphs interesting from “Our World in Data.” Who do you spend your time with? 📊
This is a long read, but it reminds you that the simple response of “I’m fine” doesn’t always mean what you think it does. We have all experienced loss in our life. We may say, “I’m fine,” but we still feel that loss for a long time. This is true of many emotions.
Another long read. Your body is not meant to be in a constant state of loneliness. If you’re not up to the read, check out this 8-minute video “The Friendship Recession” we may be in.
How about something lighter. I love reading children’s literature. When was the last time you read E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web 🕸 ? Or if a chapter book is too long to tackle, check out this article on The Elephant Saeed and the Bear. The book is currently sold out.
What’s April without another heartwarming baseball story? ⚾
I’m so grateful for my friends who persist in reaching out to me.
I’ll leave you with the upbeat and heartwarming best friends (even if one is a stuffed animal), Calvin and Hobbes.* 🐅
Thank you for reading!
Reach out to a friend today. It will make you feel better. Better yet, share this post and let them know you want to reconnect.
❤
-Susan
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Reading this, I am reminded of all the past friendships from the past (especially at work) where we have promised each other to stay in touch, but never really do.