On April 19 2014 I moved back to the Finger Lakes after 25 years in Massachusetts. Trust me, 25 years is a long time. Long enough to live in at least 12 different houses with many different roommates. Long enough to have a 20 year career and supervise too many people to count. Long enough to fall in and out of love a few times. Long enough to make wonderful friends that will last a lifetime, despite living 350 miles away.
Living closer to family and the lake is what drew me back to the Finger Lakes five years ago. I can’t believe it has been five years already! Five years is a long time too. Long enough to have a couple of jobs, move in with my honey, start my yard-work side-gig. Five years is long enough to have put down new roots and make more friends.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have awesome friends. When I visit Massachusetts I have plenty of options of where to stay and who to visit. I literally have too many friends to get to see everyone that I want to. I am lucky right? On this visit, I will spend 4 nights in 4 different towns with 4 different friends. I also got to spend an entire ay with my graduate school buddies at an Occupational Therapy conference. Today I will catch up with my mentor and friend that I met during my 20 year career!
I recently wrote about the importance of having positive relationships as one piece of the health puzzle, and good friends can be one way of ensuring that piece is in place. When friends don’t live close by, finding ways to stay in touch and aware of the important things going on in each others lives is important to maintain the friendship.
When I visit Massachusetts now, I have the opportunity to catch up with my friends while I stay at their house or meet them for a meal. We mostly sit around and talk about our lives, our partners, our families. Now that we getting a bit older we also talk about our health, our retirement dreams and taking care of aging parents. Isn’t it funny that we can go months, even years without seeing each other but when we get together we pick up just where we left off?
We don’t usually talk on the phone or even email. We text on occasion just to say hi or ask a question. I love how one set of friends will have a group text going for a couple of hours or even a few days. My phone is beeping and I am typing and cracking up laughing.
My friends are awesome and I bet yours are too! I think today is a great day to let a few of our friends know that we love them and appreciate them. Let’s pick up the phone, start a group text, shoot off an email or write a gratitude letter. Choose health today by taking a few steps to ensure your relationships with your close friends remain healthy and strong!
Want a couple of gratitude related posts to check out?
Sharing a Gratitude Letter and Don’t Quarantine Gratitude.
Lake Girl
I love you.
Right back at you! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I miss you. Bet we could meet up and talk about anything tho!!
We should do that! It would be fun!