Michigan Circle

Making friends isn’t always easy.

You pack up your life, move 2,000 miles across the country to a new city, which although is still in the United States, has a whole different culture and feel to it, you can’t expect to make friends overnight.

But that’s exactly what I expected.

I have always been a ‘social butterfly’, as I have been fondly referred to over the years. I am used to having a social circle, that I prefer to be in the center of, at all times. Throughout my life, I was never alone on a Friday or Saturday night- there was always someone I could call up.

When I moved to Michigan that all changed. Of course I had Scotty to hang out with, and although we always have a great time together, I needed more friends. I also needed girlfriends.

I needed girls that I could complain to about my period, my overly logical husband, my bad hair, my fat belly and the importance of eating chocolate on a daily basis- because they would share their experiences and empathize with me. Boys usually have a tough time understanding certain women’s tendencies or cravings.

My first closest girlfriend in Michigan arrived just when I needed one most. She worked with me at my last company, and although quite a few years older than me and pregnant, we had a lot in common. We connected instantly and she became my best friend when I needed a girlfriend most.

She listened to me bitch about the shared problems we were experiencing at work. And she helped me through my roughest time of traveling- when panic attacks consumed me by night and exhaustion ruined me by day. I listened to her adventures of being a stepmom, her apprehensions about becoming a new mother, and her excitements about the sex of the pending baby growing inside her (which turned out I was right, and it was a girl!)

For a year, we spent Monday through Friday together in a shared office. We worked together, laughed at our shared work misery, goofed off playing Reversi and watching True Blood, and dreamed about the joys of summer when things were miserably cold. I am not sure she has any idea how much her friendship means to me, or how much she saved me when things were really rough in Michigan, but she truly did. I would be lost without her.

Stacey helped me get back on the friendship horse.

When I started at my current job, I was able to quickly build a social circle of friends. Stacey built up my friendship confidence again, and our friendship reminded me of the importance of having close friends in my life.

A number of my co-workers are around my age and share a lot of common interests, so it was actually quite easy. They are a great group of people and my days wouldn’t be the same without them. I have finally started building my Michigan social circle, and they are really starting to feel like a second family.