Sweeter words have never been spoken: “I think we could be friends.” And, just like that, I feel as if life in a strange land might just turn out to be all right.
Moving to a new city, a new house, a new everything can be a challenge, and if you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ve already heard all about it. Still, after living here a year, it has gotten easier. I don’t need my GPS constantly to figure out where I am going. We have found fun and interesting activities, restaurants, lectures, the library, and, of course, our precious grandson.
One thing that continues to challenge us: personal connection. We’ve met lots of lovely people, but still, we have no one we can call and say, “Let’s go to a movie”. As we often say, it’s a good thing we like each other so much – because we do everything together!
And so, it was with pure JOY last week that I met someone who actually said aloud, “I want to be your friend.” Here’s how it happened:
I volunteer at a senior center during their lunch hour. As I took my lunch break (breaded pork cutlet, mashed potatoes, and gravy!), a woman who looked to be around my age (in the early stages of “senior citizen”) asked if she could sit with me. We ate our cutlets and chatted. Somehow it came out that she too was, gulp, a Democrat! We of the liberal persuasion are somewhat rare around these parts, although I suspect we are not as rare as we assume. In any case, when you find someone willing to talk about our crazy governor, you know you have found someone in your tribe. This woman, Sarah, and I chatted about politics, retirement, life in Sioux Falls, everything. As I stood up to return to my volunteer post she said, “I think we could be friends!” What a stunning, welcome, joyful pronouncement! Then she sealed the deal by asking if I knew about the garden bus tour that the senior center was sponsoring at the end of the month. She pulled it up on her phone, and she asked me if I would be interested in going. Now, I am most assuredly NOT a gardener, but I do love gardens and flowers and bus trips. And honestly, if she had asked if I want to go to a military museum, I would have been thrilled. Because she wanted me to go with her!
I got home, looked at my calendar, found nothing planned for that day, and texted Sarah that I was free. I signed up. I said to her, “You are the first person in a whole year to invite me to do something.” What a gift.
This week’s JOY: the possibility of friendship in a new home.
May it continue.