The Whole “Finding Your Tribe” Thing Takes Time And Action

Photo by Arthur Poulin on Unsplash

Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t found the group of friends after parenthood that you thought you’d have.This is something that takes time for those of us who didn’t stay in the same town or state we grew up in. If you relocated for your spouse, a job, a simple change of scenery, or whatever reason, no doubt it opened your life up to big change, and with that change, came the task of making and investing in new friends.

Let’s walk down Friendship Lane for a quick lesson, shall we? A friendship you’ve had since you were 5 is an anomaly in the world of friendship. It’s like that security blanket from your younger years that stayed with you forever, even if it was far away tucked in a box in the attic; it’s not going anywhere due to the sheer preciousness of longevity that you share. With these lifelong friendships, it can get tricky to remain extremely close since we’re all constantly growing and changing. You could end up in different directions, with polar opposite political views, and/or severely tipped socio economic statuses that maybe make for an awkward encounter or lack in having things in common to chat about. But neither of you will sever the relationship, because…longevity man.

OK, so you’ve got your one or two lifelong friends that are distant in proximity in addition to your college bestie that is your lifeline. But that doesn’t help when you’re having an off day or the best day ever and need someone to share it with other than your partner. This is when the whole tribe thing becomes so important. It is in your best interest, for your own happiness and well being to make friends that are close in proximity to you. People that share interests with you, have children the same age as you, and value what you value should all make up this tribe of yours. This is not to say that occasionally, some not-so- deserving of your time won’t wind up in your circle.

We all know them. The people whom we hang out with from time to time, who just can’t help themselves in catching you up on their lives-without any form of pause. You are genuinely interested in what they have to say and are always a captive audience. But over the years, you’ve come to realize this person knows almost nothing about you. You ask yourself- how is it possible that Henrietta knows nothing about my…