The Bus

Sometimes I struggle with the 'seasons' we go through as human beings in friendships.  I know it's a normal cycle of life, where some friends play a significant role in your life for many years, then move on; but I still struggle with the reality of that fact.

Then, you have other friends that you don't talk to for months, and out of the blue, they call - and you reconnect like you talk daily.

There's one part of me that easily accepts those seasons and is extremely thankful for those individuals that are in my life at this time and provide good, strong friendships.  Then, there's the other part that sees my 'old' friends moving on with their lives, not caring about mine, not reaching out to chat, see what's up or offering to hang out.

For a moment, admittedly, I slip into a victim mentality where I start hosting a pity-party for myself and get all worked up about why no one calls me to do things.... then I remember that I am extremely busy with work, kids, school, etc and probably don't have time to be with them anyway.  And regardless, we've gone through some changes in the past year or so, and probably wouldn't enjoy hanging out with them anyway.

And just as space has come in between me and some of my old friends, that space has been filled with the love and enjoyment of the 80's Ladies, so I"m not even sure why I am phased by this situation.  I think it's human nature to want to be accepted and needed; so when that void is present, we tend to get pessimistic.

I heard a quote in church this morning that made me really think about that pity party I was having...

"The bus you're on right now, may not be the bus that will take you where you need to go."

I thought about it a little deeper and thought, not only about the 'bus i'm on' ... but also about who's on the bus with me.  Those individuals from whom I've grown apart recently rode on the bus with me for a long time.  We got eachother through some pretty crazy 'stuff' during our ride... but maybe ... just maybe.... they got on a different bus; to a different destination. 

As did I.

And that's alright!

Maybe there are some new people on the bus with me now.  And maybe they'll play a different role in my life.  Or, maybe at some point, we'll pull up to a bus stop and those people will exit.

Who knows.

For now though, I'm going to remind myself of this analogy in order to help me be thankful for the people that are in my life right now and are able to stay on the bus with me for a little while... or a long while :)  Whichever.

This weekend was a great weekend.  After the crazy week I'd had last week, I was so, so thankful to be able to relax and just be low-key.

Depending on the week we have this week, I told the kids they could possibly have friends spend the night on Friday night.  It's been a while since they've had a fun evening at home with friends, so we may just have to make that happen.