On Facebook this weekend, my friend Jess
posted a picture of a group of ladies from my church who are either currently
or have been at one time a part of my church small group. Look at how cute we
are!
The picture was taken at my house
Saturday, when I hosted a brunch that was only supposed to be a slight nod to
the fact that it was my birthday weekend. And by that I mean it was my way of
wanting to celebrate my birthday, without making others feel like they needed
to celebrate me as well (though the girls really did spoil me). Some friends
couldn’t make it, and there are even more people I would have liked to invite,
but there is a point where you lose the intimate feeling of an event and the
ability to talk to all of your guests (so if you saw the picture and felt left
out, I truly apologize--come over and I'll make you waffles).
Fifteen years ago, there’s no way I would
have predicted that I would ever be celebrating my birthday with a ladies
brunch. For one, I don’t think I was even eating breakfast back then, unless a
morning milkshake counts (boy do I miss the metabolism of my college days). But
that’s a minor thing. I did not have 10 female friends when I was 20. Really, I
had two close female friends, my college roommates (and really that was two out
of three so that’s not that good of a statistic, considering the University of
Maryland had at a population of like 30,000 students). There were a few younger
girls at home that I would still check in with from time to time, but those
girls were more my mentees than peers. My female peers from high school and I
had had a falling out my junior year of high school, and in my senior year, I
had reformed my social circle to include only guys. My college social scene was
largely me and six guys rolling up to a party, and me walking home alone by
midnight because I had a boyfriend at another college. Actually, it was more
like me hanging out in one of the guy’s rooms for the pre-party mini party, and
then me not going to the actual party later, but hanging out with another guy
friend who like me, had a significant other elsewhere.
And thus my relationship gender balance
stayed for the next 10 or so years, with the exception of a few female
coworkers I got close to and a budding relationship with my first sister-in-law
who is now one of my closest friends. (Liz, you and I may not always think
alike, but I think you really “get me,” and I so appreciate you putting in that
effort, and thank you for all the grace you've shown me in the meantime).
I think I really held myself back from
having deeper friendships with other women because of trust issues. Women can
be so competitive with each other, but if that’s not enough, it’s often very
sneaky. Things are said behind people’s backs and women are fake-nice. It’s not
even that I felt I was a victim to that, but it was just a world I didn’t want
to be a part of, a game I didn’t want to play. On the other hand, men’s words
and actions are much more out in the open, and I respect that (except for the
occasional jerk who says whatever he wants to without any regard to how it will
hurt other people; there’s still a thing called tact). So while other women
were going to the bathroom together to pee and check their make-up and gossip,
I stuck with the guys and enjoyed just being with them, and not feeling like I
had to impress anyone or hurt anyone to make myself look better.
But once I got in my 30s, I started
relooking at the women in my life and realizing “hey, this isn’t high school
anymore.” The women I had friendships with, even if I had kept those
relationships pretty casual, were really cool women who were genuinely nice.
And not “nice” in the way that means boring, but in the sense that they did
nice things for you without any hidden motivations and remembered to ask about
something you had mentioned in your last conversation, however long ago that
was. If I was out with “Amy,” she wasn’t talking about “Becky” behind her back.
Women weren’t bragging or being competitive in conversations, they were merely
talking and trying to share about what’s important in their lives. And I
realized the things they cared about were also things I cared about,
like being a good wife and daughter and trying to manage all the things we had
to juggle and balancing work and family time and planning for the future, etc.
And if I was hurt by something my husband had said, they understood and had
stories of similar situations in their lives. And if I was being a little
irrational with my emotions, they could sympathize and bring me back to base.
I now love all my women friends.
Especially now that I work from home and don’t get to take part in hours of
meaningless chatter (the thing I miss most about my job), I value the
conversations I have with my friends all the more. Friendships really do enrich
our lives, and yet they can be so much harder to form as we get older in life.
I read this fun book called “MWF Seeking BFF” (Married White Female Seeking
Best Friend Forever, for those not down with the abbreviations) about a woman
who moved from New York (I think) to Chicago and wanted to develop new friendships
because it’s hard if all your friendships are based on a long distance
relationship. It was a really well written book and funny at all the things she
did to seek out like-minded people or just interesting people with room in
their lives for a new friend when in their late 20s or early 30s. It’s hard to
make a new friend! It takes a lot of effort, and when you already have an
established group of friends, sometimes it can seem like more work than it’s worth.
The book made me appreciate the way I have deepened my relationships with many
of the females who have been there in my life but whom I may have kept at arm’s
length or taken for granted in the past. (I’m sorry!)
To all you women in your 20s who might
still be aching with hurts from your peers or women of your past, I want you to
know it gets better. People grow up. And can be trusted. And stop competing. And
I think for the most part, become more compassionate.
At least I hope I have.
No comments:
Post a Comment