Seasons of Change

As I get older, I find myself drawn to a much simpler life with a much smaller circle. For 17 years, I have prided myself on having a very large and diverse group of friends. If you ask any of them, I have been fairly persistent about reaching out. When I was single, I reached out every couple of weeks. As I fell in love, it would be every couple of months. This last year it has probably been even less than that. I try to reach out on birthdays, some holidays and to share a memory if it pops up on my time hop.

I think one of the hardest things to realize is that even though you love and respect each other; the things you value- family, religion, politics – can be very different. I have changed. I am not the same person I was 5 years ago, hell I am not even the same person that I was last year! I live for weekends on my parent’s farm – grilling steaks, taking naps, working puzzles and watching fireflies. The highlight of my social nights are “Ladies Night Out” at the Symphony and dinner with a girlfriend. Date Night (while still very important to my husband and I) now can easily consist of Door Dash Mexican and the latest Netflix movie. Don’t get me wrong – I still love to travel. I still love to go to the beach or head out on the lake for the day. But for the most part, I enjoy those things because I go with people I love and I can relax while socializing.

The days of going to a party (or even to a bar for that matter) are so distant in my past that I can’t even imagine going now. Bowling every once in a while, hitting a winery and day drinking with my girls or drinking games during a big football game – maybe, but I can say with certainty - You will never again find me out at 2am trying to find a ride home.

I had a fabulous “end” to my partying days. In the months leading up to my wedding we had an Engagement Fiesta, an I Do BBQ, a Bridal Brunch and the most epic bachelorette weekend I could’ve ever imagined. I think those parties (and marrying Ray in front of everyone I love) made the “easing out” of my reckless years a very smooth transition.

Last weekend I spent Friday-Monday enjoying my family. Playing board games with my uncles and cousins, drinking coffee (with bourbon) and eating BLT’s early mornings with my dad, working puzzles with my mom, getting to know my brother’s new girlfriend, chopping endless vegetables, enjoying my dad’s famous pork tenderloin (with the white sauce), watching the sunset over the rolling hills, sending off candle lit lanterns high into the air, and piling in the truck after dark to see if the awesomeness of the fireflies is out in full force.

My hope for all of my girlfriends, past and present, is that they slow down and love the moments surrounding them. Let Sunday morning coffee bring you just as much joy as the Jager bombs at the club used to, let laughing at your kids and their wildly goofy imaginations replace laughing at your drunk friends falling out of their chair. This is the hand we have been dealt. Enjoy your parents and siblings if you are able, take a minute to watch your kids with wonder, enjoy meals with your significant other as often as possible. It may not feel as wild and crazy as your life once felt, but the feeling of fullness and contentment is incomparable.