Tonight I celebrated Friendsgiving with some friends who I’ve known for almost 15 years. It also marked a huge change for one couple as they were moving to New Mexico after one of them had spent his entire life in Illinois. As someone who’s done the pick-up-and-leave-everything-you’ve-ever-known-behind move, I’m excited for them but can also relate to the boatload of emotions that come with the move.
For one, making friends. It is incredibly hard to make friends in a new city where you don’t know anyone, especially as you get older. I’d even go as far as to say it’s easier to go on a date than it is to meet a new friend. It’s even harder when you’re leaving behind an amazing community that has stuck by you through thick and thin over the years.
But it’s also a time to start fresh. To reinvent yourself, to a degree. Or to reset your schedule and make time for what you want. Sure, you can do that anywhere, but it’s easier when you’re starting from scratch. Funny enough, as much as you want to “reinvent” yourself, there are some things that will never change. I know this because the friends I have from different walks and times in life all seem to tease me and connect over the same things, whether you’re a childhood friend or someone I meet at a recent job.
It’s also exciting. They’ve been married for a few years and together for a few more. One of them got a job as a professor in New Mexico, hence the move, but they had done long distance for the last few years as he moved around to different jobs. Finally, it’s time for the distance to end. While the distance has allowed them to continue to grow in their own pursuits and hobbies, it’s been challenging from what they shared. And they attribute the cause of their arguments to the same thing: technology. Dropped calls and failed FaceTimes and dying batteries can really throw an inconvenient wrench into conversations when all you want to do is see and/or talk to the other person. If technology just worked the way it was supposed to work all the time, there would be less interruptions and more seamless connections–or as seamless as you can get over a device. This will be a time for them to really solidify their relationship and test their own boundaries, personal and together. It’s terrifying and exciting at the same time.
When we went around the table giving thanks tonight, friends and family was a common theme throughout each person’s thanks. It’s friends like these that make the good times sweeter and the tough times manageable. And it’s traditions like these that will keep us connected moving forward. Happy Thanksgiving all!
