Work Hard to Make a Connection

my daughter, mom, and hubby at the yogurt place

Sometimes our lives are so busy that it's hard to squeeze in all the things that are important to us.

Take this past weekend.  On Saturday, I had planned a horse tour almost a month back, which I thought would be a neat way to get to know our neighborhood a bit more, since the horse farm is very close by.

Then, my in-laws wanted to get us together to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday.  Of course, we wanted to do that, and to get to see the great-grandmothers as well!

mine was coconut yogurt with blueberries and mango jelly

Then, my mom and aunt came into town.  And I really wanted to figure out a way to see them while they were here.  Problem was, I had a back to school bash at work on Sunday afternoon and church Sunday morning, plus the horse farm tour and dinner with all the family on Saturday.  That schedule was not very conducive to adding any more plans into the mix!

But we whittled out a sliver of time to have frozen yogurt with my mama.  Flannery got the most healthy toppings she could think of, as you can see.  :)  It was so nice to sit together with my mom for a bit and just chat.  Even if our life is sometimes a whirlwind, I'm always glad afterward that we worked hard to make a connection happen.

I've been thinking a lot about connection this past week.  My west-coast BFF called me on Friday, and it meant so much to me, that little gesture of connection.  My sister texted me, not about anything groundbreaking, but just to chat about a party she's planning, and that little connection made me feel  more a part of her life.  Sometimes I think it's the calls for no reason, the chats over frozen yogurt about iPhone quirks, the texts about the little things, that build connections most for me.  A wonderful blogger introduced me to this quote by Ann Patchett:

"that's my idea of real intimacy: it's not the person who calls to say, ''I'm having an affair''; it's the friend who calls to say, ''Why do I have four jars of pickles in my refrigerator?''

Too funny, right?  But a little bit true.  

Flannery's was strawberry yogurt with gummy worms and sprinkles!

What about you, do you feel like it's easy to stay connected with your friends and family, or are you like me, in that you have to work at it and try to make it a priority?