Tuesday, March 18, 2008

FRIENDLY BLOGS

“Friends and family.” The two groups are so often thrown together in conversation and whatnot that you could pull out the superfluous spaces and make one word: friendsandfamily. Thing is, for the last five years, it’s just been “family”—friends have been a non-issue for me.

However, for a few months now, I’ve been considering a change.

I should have a friend, I told myself, The Husband, my coworker, my parents, my sisters, my aunt, my cousins. I didn’t say I should have many, or even two, but I should have one. There are people whose names I know and delight in associating with every so often, but I’ve been thinking about finding one of those friends that doesn’t require a weekly phone call (though you can call whenever you’d like), but when you do talk after a month or two, it’s as if no time has passed at all.

Thing is, you can’t just buy one of those on the Internet like a pair of shoes or a bargain book.

Where to find a friend? Where to find a friend . . .

I looked around at church—no one remotely close to my age that doesn’t have squealing children. Bummer. I considered work, but it’s often best to leave your coworkers alone on the weekends; they get to see plenty of you during the week. I thought about my yoga classes, but when those people hear what I do for a living, the heated political discussion that takes place kind of starts things off on a bad foot.

However, though you can’t buy a friend on the Internet, and there’s no LDSmarriedswantingfriends.com, cyberspace provides another way: blogs.

I’m not talking about pouring over BlogSpot’s featured blogs and striking up a conversation with someone whose photography and opinions you like. I’m talking about old friends. Ones you already have! Ones that you haven’t talked to in years, but when you get back together, it’s as if no time as passed at all (except for indicators like missions, marriages, deaths, and babies that happened in those years—but hey, that stuff just gives you fuel for conversation).

I’ve been needing my eyebrows done, so on one of my Utah trips I recruited Buffy to fix me. Ashley joined in. We made a night of it, Buffy’s delish orange concoctions and all. I haven’t had that much delightful, frenzied, engaging girl-talk (outside my sissies) in, well . . . when was the last time I saw you girls? Five years? Six? I haven’t had that much delightful girl time in six years. Without the help of blogs, it could have been seven, eight, nine! years instead; we would still be in the state of lost touch that I left us in when I hustled off to Hawaii for school.

Where to find a friend? In my past.

4 comments:

Lynley said...

Megan I so went through a phase like that in my life where I thought since I was married I didn't need friends but I was SO lonely for some girl talk (keep in mind I don't have sisters). I don't know what I would do without my friends now! I need someone to talk to about Corey afterall!

cat+tadd=sam said...

I feel responsible. Thank me.

Tara Fears said...

Good Idea...I should go call my friends right now. I hope they remember me! :)

Ashley Thalman said...

megan, i could not have enjoyed the laughter, reminiscing, giggling, chatting, and catching up more that i did last friday and i CANNOT wait to do it more often!