I don’t live near any family. And as much as I love the family I have, living apart doesn’t allow us to have the mundane experiences that build relationships.
Close, to me, is picking up the phone frequently and asking about day-to-day things. Close, to me, is sharing life any time something funny strikes you, or sad. Experiencing things together. I’m terrible at this, and my aversion to the phone makes it hard to keep long-distance relationships up. Fortunately my family relationships pick up year-by-year, but I do miss that day-to-day interaction.
I’m actually very lucky that I’m close with my husband and children.
I also have a lovely group of friends whom I have known for almost 20 years, and we share as much as we can as our lives march forward. Even then its not a lot, though, despite living in the same area. It has been through Thirty-One that I realized that I am missing out on a lot of sharing, and my heart feels that loss.
The first party I consulted at was a group of ladies who were in a bible study and had been in that same group for years. The laughter and the wine flowed, and silliness ensued. And they welcomed me into their group. For that night I felt that I got to know these ladies and was included in their family. And this is when I realized what I felt I didn’t have in my life.
What a realization. A welcome awareness. Reminding me to make it a point to get closer to people and make an effort to make them feel valued, and allowing them into my life – making both of our lives richer for the effort.
