New friends

I'm a people person. I have been a people person since I was little. I can make conversation with almost anyone. Nonetheless, when you choose to uproot yourself from the familiar to the unknown there is a sense of the unfamiliar accompanied by a sense of "will they like me?". Leaving a group of comfortable friends who will laugh with you and at you, cry with you and for you, and will listen when you need it is hard. There is a trust existing with these friends, which was hard earned on your part and theirs. It took time to get 'comfortable'.

My friends are spread near and far across the country. There are those from childhood. Then college. Then grad school. Then the first job. And now...I'm in Alaska! There are friends you talk to nearly daily. There are those you might catch up with once or twice a year. There are those whom you talk to and every time you do it's like you were just together a few minutes ago even though it might have been months or years. There are friends for situations and then they disappear back into the list of "those I've known". There are the friends who make up your safety net; the lifers in your life.

I think I've started on the right path here. Last night I saw the results of putting a bug in the air on Friday. "Hey, anyone interested in a girls' only dinner on Saturday night?" Eight of us met at a local brewery for laughs, new beginnings, and old pals. Everyone in the group knew at least one other person but not everyone knew everyone else. We managed to have a lively dinner and a fond farewell with a "see ya later" at the end. It is a start, hopefully, a start which goes somewhere farther. All friendships must begin somewhere and to me over food and microbrews is a great place to start.