Take Time to Nurture Your Relationships

Do you have friends? Of course you do. So do I. Do you see your friends? Do you grab lunches, take walks, chat on the phone? If your answer to these questions is yes, then Bravo! However, if you're like me, you may feel as if you don't have time to cultivate and nurture friendships.

The people that we meet when we are immersed in school or our first jobs, are the ones that become true friends because we have the luxury of time. Time to hang out, time to share ups and downs, and time to share experiences. And then, things change. We move or we have families and we get busy. We lose our ability to create friendships in this way, because we are missing an important ingredient: time.

You may say, so what? I have my husband, my kids, and my job. I have colleagues and acquaintances. I talk to other mothers at my "Mommy and Me" class. Who has time for anything else? I struggle with that kind of thinking, too. I tell myself I should be working or doing the grocery shopping. I should be spending that time with my kids! It feels frivolous and, down deep, I don't want to be "a lady who lunches." My life has purpose after all! Or does it? If I am trying to live life as an expression of my values, then where are my friends?

Recently, I have begun to appreciate how important friendship is. I see that my parents have a group of friends that they have cultivated over years of spending time with one another; laughing, sharing experiences, commiserating, having fun, and being supportive. In other words, sharing their lives. This has inspired me to take a look at this important part of my life that I have not been missing completely, but has not been as rich as I would like it to be.

I have begun to take time to cultivate new friendships, and to renew old friendships. I have a group of women who I meet for breakfast every Thursday morning. It's just one hour and we are not all able to make it each week. We came together because we all have boys the same age, but this is no longer just about the kids. There is a something that has grown over the four years that we have been doing this, and I am reaping real benefits now; a group of women who are true friends. I am forever grateful to the woman who invited me to join this very special group of moms. I realize now, that I am building equity in a friendship account that will yield dividends forever.

About the Author: Jamee Tenzer is an ICF Certified Coach - www.lifeworks4ucoaching.com - with a specialty in coaching busy, professional women who are raising children. She works with women to create balance, ease and humor within the realities of schedules, logistics and �to-do� lists.