improve my relationships

While my relationships are a very happy ones, I am a firm believer that they can always be improved…especially since people are constantly shifting and evolving. Relationships need constant upkeep to function at the highest level possible for everyone involved.

My Girlfriend: We are taking our dogs to the dog park more often…bonding with them and each other. We have some massive dog parks here that are very nice and we all easily spend a couple of hours there when we go. We are also starting several scrapbooks (one for all of the cards we have saved over the years, one for the renaissance fair and one for our day trips and vacations). We have all of the equipment and will start on these soon. It will be a fun thing to share together. :)

My Friends: We are hanging out more often! Which is awesome because I hardly saw them before. I am having more fun than I ever have before with them and I am enjoying and appreciating their company much more as well. As for my friend out of state…we are talking on the phone more often and having longer conversations. We got into a rut for a while and all we would talk about was work…but I think we are getting back on track. :)

My Family: I am seeing them more often (usually for dinner) and I feel we are bonding. It is really nice to have relaxed conversations with them over good food. :)

I probably take a lot of people for advantage and would like to be more appreciative.

This includes my current partner, family, and friends. I want to understand and support others. I would also like to feel understood and supported.

I wish to improve my relationships by becoming better at giving to others. I want to give more to the people that are closest to me in life. I want to communicate better with others. I want to share more with others.

Admittedly I need to figure out just what it is I need to do to improve my relationships with others. Anyone have any ideas?

my goal specifics:
write an email or letter to every single person I know/ have known telling them why I like them
continue to write notes and letters to those that mean the most to me
go out of my way to do something nice for the ones I love
take a friend to dinner
have people over
make a list of activities to do with friends
hug more
be more genuine

I will probably never “complete” this goal because this is ever ongoing. I will call it “completed” when I write a letter to every person I consider a friend; write notes every week to people I care about; go places with friends and family at least 3-4 times a month. If I can do this for three months, I will call this completed on 43things.

but this year, I’ll be working on and with the relationships of my in-town family and friends. Lots of events coming up that prevent me from going down to the old hometown of San Diego.

Learn how to talk with my partner without fear. Learn how to love and not OWN someone. Learn that it’s ok to be different and still get along.

I found old friends on facebook and now we communicate often. Ironically, that also helped me feel better about the friendships I had. Because I worried about them less and they just got better.

For certain relationships this will just happen naturally through the course of things. Others will actually take a lot of work, especially if your relationship seems to be a one-way street going the other direction.
In January I decided to transfer schools and left the college I was attending after a full two semesters. I had made so many friends…I was a music major which made my classmates like a family, I was a sister in a music service sorority for a year. But its so hard to keep in touch, especially everyone is so busy with school and I’m the one sitting at home just working until the fall.
I make the effort here and there to keep in touch, but the school is a little over 2 hours away and I’m busy with work and such so its hard. I’ll keep working on it though…I don’t want ot lose these friends.
I’ve been hanging out with and talking to my aunt and my halfbrother and sister and their families more. My mom and I are doing better too, but that also has to do with the fact that I’m moving out tomorrow…which I think will actually help our relationship.
I don’t know, I’m trying but I don’t want to force things, you know? I do my best to put in the time and effort, but I don’t always have the time and the energy. Like I said, I guess you just really have to want it.

visiting my brother and nephews at Christmastime?

I also dropped in to visit Ricky, my nephew, and Marvin, my brother, a few weeks ago on my way to Phoenix.

It was really nice. We played Monopoly. I love Monopoly.

It’s much to hard to worry about this when other things are more important and less impossible.