Call a friend!  Friends can bring a respite into your day by affirming this phase of life you’re in and restoring your sense of humor.  Who doesn’t need to take herself so seriously?  The stressors of everyday living can build up until we think we’ll pop.  But sharing them with a friend can put them in a different light.  When I’m fuming mad and relate a mishap to my parents, they start snickering until their laughter turns into guffaws.  And I realize once again that life is funny.

Share a project with a friend.  A companion makes the time go faster when you have a big job looming at you.  You can clean each others’ houses together… one mops, one vacuums.  You both win by having clean floors for your babies to crawl on!  How about making meals together?  Both families benefit from your cooking adventures, and meal prep is lightened for the cooks.  Consider Naomi and Ruth’s journey to Bethlehem.  What could have been a long and lonely trek must have become an adventure.  I can picture them singing silly songs to each other just to while away the hours of walking.  Or maybe they counted the number of camels they saw go by?

Open your heart.  When you give the gift of being a good listener, you will reap the benefits of finding someone who will also care about your needs.  Take time to study people.  Personalities differ, but we’re all cut from the same cloth.  We may have different child-rearing techniques, but we’re still trying to raise our children to the best of our abilities.  And we can learn from one another while the kids play at a McDonald’s playland or grocery shopping together.  Be a shoulder to cry on and a friend who will help celebrate baby-steps!

Whether you make a phone call, share a mountainous project, or become vulnerable to someone else, you can find an oasis in your day when you entrust part of it to a friend.  What are you waiting for?  Go cultivate a friend!

Sally