The Friends Who Fill Your Cup

Last weekend an old friend invited me to a wellness event and I almost didn’t go.

Not because I didn’t want to. I just had a million other things I could have been doing instead.

You know how it goes. The house needs attention. The business needs attention. There are emails to answer, groceries to buy, laundry to do, and about 47 other things on the list that seem more important at the time.

But I’m glad I went.

The event itself was lovely. We started the morning with yoga, breathwork and a sound bath. There were over a hundred women there, lots of wellness vendors, some really interesting products and thankfully none of that aggressive sales crap where you feel like you’re being hunted down by someone with a clipboard.

It was relaxed. Fun. Easy.

We wandered around, chatted with people, learned about a few businesses, and eventually sat down to enjoy what may have been one of the best smash burgers I’ve had in a long time.

Not exactly what comes to mind when you hear “wellness event,” but there you have it.

The funny thing is that when I got home, it wasn’t the yoga I was thinking about. It wasn’t the vendors or the products or even the burger.

It was my friend.

Actually, it was friendship in general.

Because somewhere along the way, maintaining friendships gets harder, doesn’t it?

Not because we don’t care.

Life just gets busy as hell.

When we’re younger, friendships seem easy. You work together, your kids play hockey together, you see each other at school functions, neighbourhood barbecues, birthday parties and all the other things that naturally bring people together.

Then one day we look around and life looks completely different.

The kids are grown. Some friends have moved away. Some are travelling. Some are caring for aging parents. Some are dealing with health challenges. Some are navigating things they don’t even talk about publicly. And somehow the people we genuinely care about can slowly drift into the category of “I really should call her.”

I know I’m guilty of it.

The funny thing is that the friendships that matter most are often the ones that require a little effort to maintain. Not because they’re difficult, but because nobody is forcing you into the same room anymore. You actually have to make the coffee date, schedule the lunch, send the text or accept the invitation.

Last weekend was a reminder of how important that really is.

There is something incredibly comforting about spending time with people who know you well. The people who don’t expect you to be perfect. The people who can celebrate your wins without feeling threatened by them. The people who can listen when things aren’t going well and somehow make you feel better without trying to fix everything.

As I looked around the room at all these women chatting, laughing, sharing stories and supporting one another, I couldn’t help but think how much we need that connection. Not the Facebook kind. Not the “liking a post” kind. Real connection.

The older I get, the more I realize that friendships are a lot like a garden. If you ignore them long enough, they don’t necessarily die, but they certainly don’t thrive. Every now and then they need a little attention, a little time and a little effort.

And honestly, isn’t that true of most things worth having?

So if this reminds you of someone you haven’t seen in a while, maybe send the text. Invite her for coffee. Ask her to go for a walk. You don’t need a wellness event with yoga, breathwork and smash burgers as an excuse to get together, although I highly recommend the smash burgers if they’re available.

Life is busy. We all know that. But the older I get, the more convinced I am that the people who make us laugh, listen without judgment and remind us who we are when life gets messy are worth making time for.

Don’t you think?

❤️

Marion