A New Discovery

I've never been the most social person in the world. In high school I had three girlfriends. They were my best friends and we still get together as often as we can manage- what with Stephanie living in Johannesburg, South Africa, McKenzie busy as a mother of two, Liz living her newly engaged, 6th grade teaching life, and myself greatly distanced in California. 

I had essentially one friend in college. We lived together. We danced together. We drove to Mesa, Phoenix, and Scottsdale together. Our professors often called us the wrong name, me: Becca, her: Ellery. Even a dance instructor that never taught us at the same time, who didn't know we came as a package deal, called her Ellery one day in class.

I just haven't been a girl that felt like she needed a lot of friends. 

BJ obviously is my right hand man now; the person that I do everything with. But it literally wasn't until a couple weeks ago that I came to a realization:

Life is a lot more fun with friends.

Of course BJ and I have had our couple friends: Brian and Cat (sniff, sniff- we miss you,) and also Tanner and Megan. But me, myself, I haven't spent much time making girlfriends until recently.

There are a lot of young moms in our ward and we've been having so much fun together:

planning dinner parties, going on "fieldtrips" together each Friday, yoga class in the basement at night, girls nights, library dates, and bookclub. It took me a while to put my finger on, but having girlfriends, especially as a new mother, is essential.

I'm feeling a lot more at home here in California, and I think it's largely due to the fact that I have my own friends now. Having friends here solidifies me in my surroundings and I don't feel so much like I'm just here on vacation anymore. 

Ellie's got a few good buddies here now too, and though for the most part she is unable to interact with them, she always breathes really hard in excitement initially upon seeing them, and then reaches out to grab any body part she can get, leaning in to give a big, slobbery, open-mouth kiss.