I resolved a few years ago to make my relationships my hobby.
Relationships can't be a hobby, they said.
You spend every weekend somewhere different, they said.
You travel so much, they said.
Sure, there was a lot of work travel in 2015, but I was lucky that I really loved my coworkers, which made being away from home a little easier. I was also lucky that working a few weekends let me add in some layovers with my mom or with my bffls. And when I was traveling, I got to see faraway friends I didn't usually see.
I tend to force myself on my people in a way I hope comes off as endearing. And in 2015 I did that to my friend Jessica who was living just outside of Dallas. I was in the area for a conference and she'd just had a new baby.
At home.
It was wild. I had to meet this baby, and I had to see her.
Jessica had been one of my very best friends since I was moved to Idaho in high school. Our lockers were next to each other. She loved big literature and terribly juicy Canadian teenage melodramas (See: Jimmy Brooks). She named her son after a Jane Austen character. She threw an Oscars party for us just so we could get fancy. She was full of joy. She always did things first.
I had a few extra hours when I was in Dallas, so I took an Uber to see her and take her babies to this country fair thing with a bunch of longhorns and real cowboys. It was so good to see her. We fed goats and ate cheeseburgers.
A few months later, she was found dead. It was really shocking. Devastating. Unfair. She was the first from our graduating class to die. We had a party for her in Idaho. We got fancy. It still doesn't make sense.
I will be forever glad I took that Uber deep into Texas and that we fed goats and ate cheeseburgers.
Soon after I forced myself on Jessica, I took a new job that gave me more of this:
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| Photo: Alyssa Wilcox |
It has been so fun. It's been really grounding, too. And every day I'm learning. That's partially why I haven't been here much. Once we get home, we eat, I maybe go work out, and I numb my brain with high-caliber Bravolebrities. And now that The Bachelor is coming back into my Monday nights...forget about it.
I love our tiny little family, and our perfect first house. Raz and I are thinking about hobbies outside of petting cats and watching Netflix. Maybe we'll come up with one in 2016. I don't do restrictive resolutions in the traditional sense, but I did appreciate this list written for "grown ass women." Whatever comes this next year, though, I know we'll keep prioritizing our people, and with our pretty freshly combined family, we have a lot of humans pulling at our time. It's a good problem to have, and one we're figuring out how to balance.
I don't know what this whole life thing will bring, but I like where it's headed, and I plan to keep that resolution I made years ago.
May your New Year be filled with fluffy things, deep bonds, and great joy.
XO.
I love our tiny little family, and our perfect first house. Raz and I are thinking about hobbies outside of petting cats and watching Netflix. Maybe we'll come up with one in 2016. I don't do restrictive resolutions in the traditional sense, but I did appreciate this list written for "grown ass women." Whatever comes this next year, though, I know we'll keep prioritizing our people, and with our pretty freshly combined family, we have a lot of humans pulling at our time. It's a good problem to have, and one we're figuring out how to balance.
I don't know what this whole life thing will bring, but I like where it's headed, and I plan to keep that resolution I made years ago.
May your New Year be filled with fluffy things, deep bonds, and great joy.
XO.
