I walked home in the evening after a passing shower had cooled down the air (and after swinging by A.'s to wish him a bon voyage on his weekend trip to Atlanta) feeling spirited and happy with the day. It didn't hurt that I was styling my easy breezy romper and successfully breaking in my new (8-month-old) flats.
Yesterday, my junior high school held an informal reunion and while it was so nice seeing a handful of old teachers and classmates, it made me wonder what happened to those friends I was so close with back then. It seems that for every phase in my life - elementary school, jr. high, high school, undergrad, grad school, each job - I've had someone or a group of people that I formed close relationships with…until one or both of us moved on to the next stage and over time a wedge started forming between us. People move away, get married, have children, get busier, and suddenly keeping in touch seems like a bigger to-do than what you want to commit to.
So while I'm grateful that I have a handful of childhood friends who are still bugging my life on the regular (like Anonymous, shown above, who I've known for 16 years) and am cherishing my time with more recent gems, it also got me thinking: how on Earth do you make new close friends once you're an adult? Since I work from home I don't have the opportunity to mingle with coworkers and bond over happy hours and it seems like the bulk of my friendships were formed during my school years. Social groups and meet-ups have also yielded some fun relationships, but usually I'm so shy that group settings make me want to hide and wait for someone else to come and say hello!
Do you make new friends easily? How do you grow your social circle and stay tight with the ones you already have?