Worries and friendships

I achieved something noteworthy yesterday. I made it to Spring Break.

Thank God, I thought. This semester has been so incredibly stressful that all I could do some days is charge focus on the moment and moving forward. The last few weeks, I just kept reminding myself that Spring Break was around the corner, and with it, a break for me from a bit of responsibility as well as the opportunity to enjoy visiting with some people I haven't seen in awhile.

I had a nice conversation with a close friend this morning. We talked a lot about the process of worrying. Worry itself can be so intensely draining. I've been a worrier all my life. One of my friends jokes that if I had nothing to worry about I would invent something. That's probably true. And it's something that I've become keenly aware of; it robs me of time and pleasure in my life. Anyway, the friend I was talking with this morning has the same problem--letting her worries get the better of her at times. This reflection led us into a conversation about gratitude. Our needs to recognize it, to acknowledge it, to focus more on it. What makes us happy.

I have a friend that I keep up with on Facebook whose posts always make me think about the kind of life I'd like to lead. This person gardens, bakes bread, spends time with her little son, and just seems to enjoy the everyday pleasures that so many of us rush through. I so enjoy reading her posts, seeing her pictures, and thinking about how she spends her days. It's kind of my fantasy, to be able to live a life like that. I don't know that I would be good at it but I so wish I could be. And I'm so very happy for her that she is so good at it, selfishly perhaps, because it provides me wonderful ideas and images of how much life has to offer us if we slow down and enjoy it.

I'm so grateful for my friends. For friends I can call and talk about my worries. For friends that can joke with me about my less-than-flattering attributes. For friends who inspire me to slow down and taste my life. As much as I tend to get lost in my worries, I am truly blessed to have such wonderful, loving people in my life. Someone once said that friends are the family you choose for yourself. Two lovely families. God smiles on me.