Uprooting

We did some de-cluttering of our landscaping recently, and part of it entailed uprooting this unhealthy tree. It wasn't even a very big tree, barely taller than me, which if you know me isn't very tall. But it had some deep roots, and removing it was no easy feat. Well, that's what it looked like to me anyway as I was sipping my diet coke in my air conditioned house while watching my husband shave years off of his life removing it. But I digress. My point being that uprooting is often a messy, painful, painstaking process.

Our family uprooted last summer. We had basically been in the same area for 18 years. In that time, we had laid down some deep roots, and built an amazing network of awesome friends. When we moved, that awesome network of friends suddenly became miles away.

I had to re-learn how to make friends right along with my kids. One of the downfalls of having such a great group of friends before was that I never had to "make friends" anymore. I had plenty. There wasn't an aching need to add to my friendship circle, especially as I got older. But with the move, my circle disappeared and I was pushed back out into the unknown.

But I like a challenge. And I know the value of having great friendships, so I'm willing to put in the work and patiently rebuild that network. My friendship circle that had been so tight was forced open, but as a result, I realized my heart and life had room for way more people than I realized. People I'm supposed to meet and walk through life with here. People that are going to laugh with me, teach me things, share my sorrows, maybe even share my idiotic love of reality tv. People that I would have missed out on meeting if I hadn't moved. Maybe in a few years, I'll have built another tight friendship circle. But I hope that I'll have learned to treasure those friendships without being closed to inviting new ones in. 

So to friends old and new and yet to be met, I'm looking for you! (but not in a stalker freak way....really....)