Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Singlehood: The Quiet Simple Life

It seems for a while I have been living the "quiet simple life". I have a group of friends I hung out with, a small group I see weekly, some weekends I volunteer at church, then others I just set a relaxed schedule usually by myself just not bothering anyone or causing wakes in the pond.

Some transitions happened in my life that moved friends away or me away from friends (how every you look at it). In this I have found myself doing more alone and being ok with it.

Last Friday night I was invited to hang out with some girls and watch a movie. I had seen this movie several times in the week before, but I went to see it again. It was so much fun. I had forgotten the joy of watching a movie with friends. How sad it that?!

Then tonight after the Jadon Lavik concert I went out with a bunch of folks from EPIC (our post-college ministry). Again... I had forgotten how much fun it is to go out and eat with a group of friends.

I realized that I have been so worried about burdening people with my presence, that I had forgotten what joy can come from sharing experiences with friends. How could I have gone so far that I forgot this?!

Is this common in the single life? Or is this a me thing?

2 comments:

Natalie said...

Tina, you took the words right out of my mouth! It is exactly like that for me to!! My days off are on weekdays, so they are often very quiet and slow-paced.

And about doing things together: I remembered laughing so hard during The Emperor's New Groove at a family night at my church many years ago. So I rented it and watched it alone, and I appreciated it, but didn't know where to laugh! Then I had my sisters come over, and suddenly I knew what parts to laugh at. Humor (and so much more) multiplies in the company of others.

I really enjoy your company, by the way, Tina.

Anonymous said...

Your comment about not wanting to burden other people really hit home with me. In my own transition from college to "real life" I found myself trying to figure out friendship boundaries and unfortunately I made the mistake of not talking to other people around me. Like you, I had one of the weeks where all of the sudden you start to enter act with people and you figure out that you were isolating instead of thriving.