Framily

This has been the travel week from hell, but it was worth it.

I spent time with friends. (I mean real friends who exist in real life.) We sat in cars and talked about life. We sat in parks and watched squirrels. I had dinner with kids. We visited shopping malls, sat at dingy restaurants, and talked about stupid shit like report cards, first communion and the rising cost of college.

It was great.

Social media fools me into thinking that I have an extended network of friends and family who will rally to my side if I need anything. I do — sorta — but if you’re like me, you are blessed to have a few good friends you can count on one hand.

It’s easy for me to exert a ton of superficial, relational energy on friends and family who live thousands of miles away, but when it wasn’t reciprocated or didn’t meet my expectations, I was hurt. Now I just appreciate how social media allows me to keep in touch with people whom I respect and admire. I don’t push to keep the connection alive beyond the cloud. I don’t try to nurture a connection that wouldn’t exist without SMS or Instagram. I am just grateful for what it is: a nice window into someone’s world who thinks enough of me to share those experiences for a brief moment.

Detachment from “social-friends” allows me to redirect my energy to healthy relationships. And spending time with people I love, this week, has been fabulous. My framily plan is limited, but it’s tight.

More importantly, my real life is good.

I hope yours is good, too.