Friendship

Posted by Marci on Dec 2, 2010 in | 0 comments

For all the blessings I’ve found in pursuing my list, my dream of finding a group of energetic people who love to get the most out of life has been the dearest gift of all.

The day I wrote my list of dreams, I was sitting in the park feeling sad and alone. The previous five years had been the loneliest of my life. Though I had friends and family who loved me, many were over three thousand miles away on the east coast. I’d tried many times to make friends in California, but except for two wonderful people I hadn’t succeeded. I longed for people who loved to dance, hike, do yoga, and go on adventures.

It was only a few hours after making the list that I became friends with Maryland. A concierge at the hotel where I was staying in Napa, she invited me to join her and another couple for a glass of wine. By the end of the night she had me laughing until my stomach felt like it would split open. Maryland is bold, brutally honest, and one of the funniest women I’ve ever met. She is the friend I turn to when I need a good kick in the pants, advice, or just to laugh.

Over the next month, people came to me. Through a yoga class, I met Del Marie. Every Friday night, she opened her home to strangers where she shared her knowledge of yoga and then cooked wonderful meals without asking for anything in return. A powerful, brilliant woman she has traveled solo to India numerous times to study the culture. She gives of herself without expectation and through her kindness the group of us who gathered became a family.

My friend Jasmin came to me through a writer’s group and we say that we’d been searching for one another. Her children have taught me that friendship has no age limit, for they are two of the most important people in my life.

It seemed everywhere I turned I was meeting another incredible person: the neighbor who wrapped me in her arms the moment she met me; the people at church who became family; my salsa dancing partners; my girlfriend who I trade massages with; the people in my social networking group; my figure skating family.

Since making the list, I have laughed harder, danced more, and have been surrounded by people who love to enjoy life. When I couldn’t return to Boston for Christmas, due to an injury, I wasn’t alone; My table overflowed with friendship. I am awed by the blessing of having a family on the west coast as well as the east coast.