An evening with friends...

I just returned from a very nice evening out with friends. Sarah and I took our friend Amanda out tonight for her birthday. Amanda just turned 29 and is bummed a bit that she's approaching the 'Great Abyss'! Ha, wait til she approaches 40! Sarah and I haven't seen Amanda in awhile because we've all been so busy. We went to dinner and a movie, and like we always do we had just an all around very enjoyable evening which ends with us all saying that we need to do it more often! The three of us have always just clicked, and we always enjoy spending time together no matter what we do together.

Actually about a year and a half ago, we did have a kinda steady night out which seemed to slowly peter out. And as I think about the reason why, I'd have to say it's because the demands of life got in the way. Amanda started a new job, and Sarah had a baby and so on.

That seems to be a common theme for most people nowadays. Life is so busy, so we reschedule our time with friends and family. We try to squeeze so much productivity into our lives that too often our personal relationships suffer. I think of all the people that each of us run into everyday but on a surficial and fleeting level. Do we even really pay attention to the person standing next to us in line? The answer of course is no, we're probably thinking of what's next on our to-do list.

I think in this crazy busy world that we live in having friendships and personal connections are so important. Really isn't that what life is about? Our interpersonal relationships? The people that we choose to spend time with, to give a part of ourselves to? For most of us, our memories certainly consist of the events that shaped our lives, but it's the people and relationships in our lives that tie those events and subsequent memories together.

I fear that in our hustle and bustle lives that we may forget that it's the personal connections with our fellow souls that enrich and define our lives not how many hours we work or deals that we make.

I think it's time to reinstitute our monthly girls night out...