Many of my friends have expressed how hard it is to make good friends in their twenties and thirties. I agree that it can feel as awkward as dating at first! Unless, there is an activity. Honestly, I think that activities are the secret to making friends at any time in your life. You all have the excuse of being there to mingle, whether it's a volunteer group, kickball league, pub trivia teams or my favorites: book club and knitting group. I've definitely mentioned my lifelong friends made over the years thanks to Wednesday night knitting circle at Rosie's Yarn Cellar.
Weekly pub quiz (or Quizzo) in Philly for years introduced us to a wonderful group of men and women, and where I met my delightful Arch-Nemesis.
As a volunteer co-chair for the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, I made great professional connections, but realized that no matter what age, people usually bond post-meeting by eating, drinking beer and cracking jokes. They can hold their liquor and still speak quite intelligently on sustainability, energy grids, local government and policy.
So what does this have to do with crabs? Particularly Maryland Bay Seasoned Blue Crabs?
Last year, through friends of a friend, I added another wonderful group to my Philadelphia network, the Book-It Girls. A friend started a book club, and even though all of them don't enjoy reading as much as others of us, it has become a long-lasting and tight-knit group. What a welcome surprise as I entered my 33rd year. I'm actually one of the older ladies in this group, so it's nice to have younger group of friends, especially as many of my friends are having babies, moving away, etc. (I realize the irony of this now that I am having a baby...)
The members of our book club attended a Bridal Shower / Bachelorette Weekend in Annapolis, Maryland this weekend to celebrate our founder's upcoming wedding. We attended a laid back shower in an open barn with gorgeous weather. One of the girls even brought along her 2 month old twins and husband.
After the shower, we went to an All-You-Can-Eat Crab dinner, then dancing and drinking (excluding me!) past midnight. It was a blast, and my baby bump and I enjoyed breaking it down on the dance floor while I'm still feeling good!
It may sound sappy, but it makes me so happy to have amazing friends in my life, and still be meeting new ones unexpectedly over the years. Not being from Philadelphia, we had to create a new network almost from scratch. After 8 years, we're still meeting new people, and seeing how intertwined all of our groups of friends are. Knitting overlaps with Sustainability and Book Club, etc.. until they're all just friends.
The Book Club girls have become the kind that you feel comfortable to talk about anything with, to have slumber parties in hotels, and to go buck wild on an epic breakfast on the road trip home after your abs hurt from laughing 24 hours straight.
Lesson learned: when moving or looking for new friends, join a club! Good times.