This past Friday, Alex and I had dinner with two other couples: one who Alex has known since college, and the other who we met at the college couple’s wedding last May.

The dinner we had brought me so much joy and I had so many great epiphanies from our time together:

• I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself to find “my own friends” in Atlanta, when really, the community I’ve met through Alex has accepted me more than my own family ever has.
• This friend group is the microcosm of who Alex and I are: people who bring others together. Alex met Christina and Tyler in college, then we met Jordan and Rachel at their wedding because I struck up a conversation with them… and look at us now!
• Just because my friends from ten years ago may not be in my life anymore, doesn’t mean that I will never have those sorts of friendships again. In fact, some of the friends I’ve made in the past two-ish years have been the healthiest, most supportive and fun friendships of my life yet.
• You’re allowed to change and grow and value different qualities from your friendships now than you did before.
• Making friends and finding community is hard – especially if you move and when you grow up – but finding the diamonds in the rough is SO incredibly worth it.

The rest of our weekend was wonderful too, except for Sunday evening. I’d reconnected with a friend who is going through a hard time, and used me as a “punching bag” this past year because of it. She’d admitted that she was angry and jealous of me and that’s part of why she treated me as she did. But truth be told: I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust her the same way ever again.

My relationship OCD wants to fixate on that conversation instead of all the good that happened this weekend and week, including our fulfilling triple-double-date, hanging out with our buddy Matt, taking Linley to his third-annual Splish Splash Doggie Bash, and having a great conversation (and hugs!) with my bestie Grace last night.

I couldn’t be more grateful for my friends who make me feel at home, and I’m not going to let one bad apple ruin my weekend or night’s sleep again…

…the leaves are changing, and so am I. 🙂✨

Media taken Friday, October 3 – Wednesday, October 8 in Atlanta, Georgia. 🍂