Sociability

I've had a couple of really fantastic nights that have reminded me how important it is to be sociable, and get out of my house and share ideas with people, because you never know what will come out of it.

Friday night, my parents, son and I were invited to my good friend Danielle's house for dinner. I'm using her real name, because she leaves comments here. Danielle has been working with me for more than a couple of years, but we became close working on the Middle School these last two years. We have, however, developed a far closer relationship outside of school in part because I am now free to go out during the day, and as she works part-time, we enjoy exploring the city together (within my limits of course). So in an odd way, I owe some of our relationship to my illness. Huh.

In any case, my son was picked up by his father at her house, but not before he got to enjoy her wonderfully eclectic and fun art "collection". It was really nice to see him so intrigued by the pieces she and her husband have collected over the years. He was going from one to the other and back again, and just lapping up every moment of the colours and whimsy.

Not only was the food delicious, but the conversation was brilliant. Danielle's husband, you see, runs a consultancy firm which specializes in "lean" models - I'm not sure I understand the model completely, but we were blown away by the similarities of what he recommends for business and what we do in our Montessori practices. I will do a whole post on that another time, because it really was cool. But for today, suffice to say that it was super nice to have my mind blown, and to engage in intellectual and meaningful conversation. Because I rarely converse with those outside my inner circle, it was a lovely return to one of my many dormant personas. There is little I enjoy more in life than a bright, interesting conversation with people who know what they're talking about. And I got that, even when we were on other topics.

Tonight, I've come home from another lovely evening, of a completely different type, with my two bestest oldest friends of whom I have written before. Being with them, at Maggie's house, with her husband, is not like being out. It is like being at home. I have no qualms about lying down, or reclining while they run around getting things or doing stuff, and I have even fewer qualms about speaking my mind when with them. It is so comfortable, there's not much like it.

What came out of it though, which I would not have gotten had I stayed home and talked to them on the phone or e-mailed (besides the incredible lemon-stuffed olives from St. Lawrence Market), is a date to see the last Harry Potter, or a borrowed book - the first of George R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series, on which Game of Thrones is based.

Two totally different nights, and yet I got so much out of both, not only in the moment, but in terms of future plans and thoughts.

This weekend has been just a wonderful reminder of how social interaction leads to further social interaction, inspiration, and by extension, a greater quality of life. It is so easy to get lost in my online worlds, to believe that my interactions with my forum friends, and facebook and all of that is enough. But it's not. And this weekend really reminded me of how valuable it is to have people with whom I can share this life and this world, no matter what shape I'm in.

Once again (how many times is that now????) I raise my glass to my friends. You guys rock.