Catching Up

Ever hear of that old saying, "Life gets in the way"? I know I've used it as an excuse a time or two. When in reality, we're always living, it never gets in the way. We put different things at the forefront, at different times in our life. In high school, life seemed to always be about our friends, and what we were doing after school or that weekend. In college, we were concerned about our classes, but also made time to go out and experience 'college.' Now that I'm out of college, and currently have a full time job, I've come to realize how hard it is to maintain those friendships that we worked so hard to keep up with over the years. It's a difficult balancing act, that doesn't seem to get easier no matter how many hours a sleep I get a night. Sometimes, I seriously weigh going out with sleeping longer, and I'll be honest, sleep usually wins, but I've come to reason that spending time with friends, as well as family, is more important than sleeping an extra hour, when it's probably going to be just as difficult to get out of bed the next morning. I don't want to look back at my life and think of all the times I got a good nights sleep, because quite frankly, who cares? I'm going to want to flip through photo albums filled with travels, with good food, and fun, memorable times with friends and family.

Over the years, I've lost many friends - we outgrew one another, we stopped talking, or we just lost touch. I've been so grateful to reconnect with some old friends quite recently, while keeping my current friendships in tact. It doesn't take much now a days, just a quick text telling the other you're thinking of them, wishing them luck on a current endeavor, or asking what days they're free next week, giving them plenty of time to schedule in a date just for you. Now believe me, I'm not the perfect friend, but I've begun to realize that it takes work, from all individuals, and sometimes it's harder than any one thought possible. 

It's not about the amount of time you spend with someone either, as long as you're both present and available during the time you spend together, that's all that matters; whether it's for a quick lunch date for salads, a dinner date followed by loads of conversation, or just a quick coffee before bed. 

In the past few weeks I've caught up with my friend who is still in college, with a difficult schedule -

we went out to dinner and enjoyed some sangria over conversations about life, love, and our new workout schedules, or lack there-of. I've caught up with an old friend, who I hadn't seen in a year or two, during a quick lunch date, eating salads and talking about what has happened in our lives since graduation. I was also able to grab lunch with another friend who I hadn't seen in months.

Sure, I've been able to go out with Sal's friends, but these are my girlfriends, and girl time is much different than going to the bar with a bunch of men.

So don't let 'life get in the way', just LIVE.