learn to be a better friend

I really think that I try, but friends that I thought were friends just seem to dissaper in my life. It seems that alot show up when they are in need….that is another story.

I finally made time to call my friend Liz and catch up. Amazingly, her boss is taking her entire office to Puerto Rico for a week, and – here’s the weird part – she doesn’t want to go. I laughed and said I’d take her place. He was my boss once, and I am much more fond of him than Liz. No fair! :D

to be able to catch up a little with my old friend Lisa lately. We grew up across the street from each other and now are living about a half-block away from each other again – weird! She’s on her 2nd marriage, to a guy who’s a bit older, and he has some really bad health problems now. I feel so badly for her; I need to think of ways to help her keep her spirits up.

I am clearing the calendar to go catch up with my friend Liz and see Mamma Mia. Can’t wait!

at the grocery store I ran into a woman from my old church whom I’d been fairly close to when our kids were young. We carpooled our kids to preschool, sometimes our families went camping together, we were in the same groups at church and lived a mile or two away. It was great to catch up and I found out that a year ago she did the ultimate good-friend thing: she gave a kidney to a former co-worker. Wow! Talk about taking friendship to the highest level!

took my friend Liz out for a belated birthday dinner and it was great! Excellent food and wine, wonderful conversation – that woman can really get up on her soap box, but I admire her passion. It was so great to catch up with her.

Also had a good lunch with a great new friend. All in all, a good friend-centered day!

This weekend I have spent a ton of time nurturing and creating various friendships. Listened to a very dear friend at breakfast Saturday unload some of the hurt of this past year, had some serious phone conversations with another friend about the guy she’s been trying to decide about, got caught up with another friend on the phone before leaving town (and she invited me to another bike ride event – yay!) and met a woman I think will become a close friend at the murder mystery weekend an hour & a half from here in Bellevue, Iowa. It turns out she lives less than a mile away from me here in Moline, and it was one of those weird situations where we just really clicked.

Yesterday while out running I was reflecting on the huge stuff that my friends and I have supported each other through in just this past year – re-discovery of cancer and a mastectomy for one, a child being arrested and now spending time in a federal pen, major job change turmoil, being assaulted by a mentally ill child, recommended open heart surgery – all big stuff. Thank God for great friends; I don’t know how we’d make it without each other.

Though I was wiped out tonight, spent some time at Brooke and Mark’s newly-purchased Money Pit. All I can say is wow! Glad it’s them, not me! (been there, done that). Took over a plant for a housewarming gift.

was the birthday of 2 of my best friends. I spent most of the day partying with one, but still haven’t even called the other – must do that tonight, and figure out when to take her out to dinner.

I have to say, I was a bit pissed when the one I was partying with started saying things to my husband I had told her in confidence when he joined us later in the day, though. And not only was it taken out of context, but what she said wasn’t even really what I said. Yes, we’d been drinking, but …

Note to self – watch mouth around her in the future.

I went into the little quilt shop near my fitness center to find some little gifts for the sisters of my new-ish sister-in-law, since they all quilt and have been gracious enough to “adopt” me and invite me to their monthly breakfasts. I found these cute little triangle-shaped bird pincushions, some of which have wrist straps. Just something little, but I want to let them know how much I appreciate them.