Day Twelve: Connect to New Friends

As of this November, our family has lived in our house for 10 years, which is the longest I’ve ever lived in one residence. Being able to be in one place for this long has been a beautiful gift for me, as I have gotten to really be a part of our small community as it grows and changes. Just last week, Forrest and I realized that as we’ve made small changes to our garden each year, it’s really grown into something cool. At first, it was just a giant mess of raised beds that we built in between toddler tantrums. But each year, we’ve added something: cedar mulch, irrigation systems, trellises for climbing flowers, elevated beds for herbs. And those additions have made what was once a weed strewn lawn into a pretty cool place to be.

But as much as I have very much put down roots (get it? Haha.) I don’t ever want to forget what it was like to be new somewhere. Not just the loneliness and making of new friends, but the lack of answers for basic questions. Where do you get a good plumber? How does the public transportation system work? Where are these places I hear about on the news? Who the hell is Tim Eyman? (For non-Seattleites, he’s our local tax activist who keeps running ballot measures to decrease funding for the government. On the day after the governor cancelled gatherings of 250+ people, Eyman promoted a rally for specifically 251 people to flout the restrictions.)

In this time of isolation and confusion, I can imagine those questions must be even more acute. So if you know someone who has moved to where you are in the last year, reach out today. Make sure they know and have what they need. How can you be there for them in this time?