The art of friend-making

I was talking to the guy who "sculpts" my brows yesterday, about making friends. He has had a hard time meeting people here in PDX, and just recently has been able to make some connections. I told him the hard thing about reaching out to people is knowing them well enough to know what they might be interested in doing with you. With moms it is even harder, as they have to weigh your invitation against spending time with their family, potentially getting a sitter, etc. Which makes the casual "let's go for drinks" seem like almost too much work.

I have met a couple of women since moving here that I seem to "click" with, but haven't taken that next step of really reaching out to them. I had a nice surprise this morning, when I heard someone calling my name at church. I looked up to see M., one of the few women at work that I have connected with. We've had lunch a few times, but we never got around to, "So, what do you do on Sunday mornings?" Funny how that never came up. I was happy to see her, and it made me feel like my instincts were correct that we could be friends.

I took the extra effort to attend a PTA meeting, and a nursing mother's activist meeting, last week. I had hoped to open the door to some new friends, with common interests. It's like dating though, finding new girlfriends is labor intensive. It takes time. But as my PT friends feel further and further away (Becca -- can't we trade dinner this week??) it's important that I establish some new pals here. And if they have interesting partners, so much the better. Now that we have a reliable babysitter, double dinner dates sound really appealing. But so does coffee on Saturday morning, scrapbooking on Sunday afternoon, or drinks after kid's bedtime any old night.