Home at last

People wax lovingly on about the joy of small town living. I have never found that to be a particularly true concept, but then I have moved around frequently and come to small towns as an adult who was not born and raised there.

Much of my life has made me feel like an outsider. Someone who watches and enjoys, but does not really belong with, or is part of, any group of people.

I realize that I need a lot of time alone, but I still crave good company. Growing up that generally seemed to mean playing with the boys. Riding bicycles, playing with model trains, building club houses out of trash, even playing chess. Girls were harder. As a younger child I could play dolls or house with them, but the farther I got from childhood, the more difficult it became to find common areas of interest. Later on I found friends among my children's friends' mothers, but they weren't soul mates.

Talking about problems at home or work is fine, but eventually it bores me to death. I enjoy talking about ideas, places, unique situations, books, art, music, almost anything, but not a minute by minute account of what your children are doing, or what the people at your work place are doing.

I need something more. I need it in manageable quantities and I had pretty much decided I was such an odd duck that I simply did not fit into the company of most people who might enjoy my company.

Until I discovered an organization called Meetup which helps people connect with like minded people in their community. More precisely I discovered Women Wine and Words, a group of fifty women whose only requirement is that they be women and enjoy each other's company at least once every sixty days.

These are my people!

I found myself at brunch yesterday with a microbiologist, a business analyst, a retired Casey's employee, a sixth grade teacher, an engineer, and a Presbyterian minister. The conversation jumped from one fascinating thing to another and that is what I love about this group.

I find myself getting together with four to eight of them at least five or six times a month and doing everything from painting a picture to discussing a book. Sometimes we just go out for a meal or coffee, but whatever I choose to do with them, it enriches my life immensely.

Now, in what is surely the last quarter of my life, I have finally connected with something that makes this community extremely valuable to me. For the first time ever I find myself part of a group of people I value more that I ever thought was possible. This is my tribe, my home, the place I belong and I would hate to leave it.