I just love this quote from Christy Evans; and I might have even given a magnet or card with this quote to one of my besties.
 

I think it’s a pretty accuratereflection of the state of close friendships as we age.

Busy as we all may be, it’s still important to maintain and/or grow friendships.

Why? Because it’s good for our health- really! 

Science tells us that friendships positively impact our health across the board, from increasing our life satisfaction, to decreasing the likelihood of chronic disease (Fuller, 2017).

Friendship has even been shown to improve your mind (Cook Maher et al., 2017)!

It's a good thing we have Rotary! 

Last week at RLI, it was apparent that there were some new and lifelong friends connecting at the meeting.  

Many of the participants talked about the friendships they’ve established and maintained over the years.

This week we had some high school RYLA participants at our morning meeting, and they talked about the friendships that were built over just one weekend.

When I moved here 2-1/2 years ago, I knew I wanted to join a local Rotary Club, not just because of all of the wonderful service that we do, but also for the opportunity to get to know a group of like-minded people.

And now, I feel like I have a whole bunch of friends that I get to see on a regular basis- it’s great!!!!  

So how long has it been since you got together with a friend (besides in our Club)?

When we’re younger, we develop friendships more easily, in part because we tend to be collocated (as in college) and as couples havechildren, friendships form between parents with young kids of similar age. 

Then, as we get older, we tend to get wrapped up in work, family, maybe fitness or other hobbies, and we don’t spend much, if any, time with friends.

We try to squeeze them in between all of our other commitments and it often takes weeks to schedule something as simple as a cup of coffee.

Sound familiar? 

What can you do about this?

Well, what if you made time for friends?

What if you made it a priority?

What if you picked up your phone and called or texted a pal to catch up?

To get together sooner rather than later?
 

I guarantee that your friend will be tickled to hear from you, no matter how long it’s been.  

Here's to friends! Here's to you!

Make it a great week!