Community - that is what was so lacking in my life during my marriage. I was blind to the value of friendships and connections. I thought my husband was enough. As an Enneagram 5 and an introvert, I thought my needs were simple. I was so wrong.
And so over the past 10 months or so, I've been pushing myself to create that community. It's had its ups and downs. It's tested my courage. It's pushed me so far out of my box I don't recognize myself. And it's made me so proud of myself.
So if you read last Friday's post about Navigating new friendships, you know the lead up to tonight. I have to say this is exactly what I needed. Today wasn't so scary. It wasn't so sad. Because I had plans to make it something better. Today didn't need to be just a reminder of the 20th wedding anniversary that didn't happen and the lost dreams with that (not that there weren't some of those feelings mixed in). But really, today became a new beginning, As one of my new friends said, "Happy Birthday because this is the birth of your new life!"
So I met three amazing women for dinner and drinks at the brewery across the street from my apartment. These are the same women I had an amazing evening with in April that I described in this post. They didn't come empty handed - flowers, chocolates, and wine sit on my kitchen table now and remind me of their love. And then the conversation flowed freely on topics that were far from superficial. I was even vulnerable in describing all the anxiety I overcame to invite them all. And we all talked about growth and our journeys and what life had taught us. And we laughed. And we uplifted each other.
My heart is overflowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment