I came across an article that discusses what many of us experience when we're dating: trying to keep up with your friendships while in a romantic relationship. In 3 Ways to Maintain Your Friendships While Falling in Love, Gabriel offers great suggestions to make it work.
An excerpt:
"Integrate Your Life
There seems to be an ever increasing trend of separating out the many
different people in our lives. By the time we graduate from college,
many of us will have college friends, high-school friends, work friends,
and then our boyfriend. But it’s no wonder we can find balancing
friendships stressful—we are literally juggling them, refusing to let
them bump into one another. Quit the circus and let your friends mix; it
makes it easier on you and gives your friends the opportunity to
broaden their own circles.
CALL A HAPPY HOUR AND INVITE EVERYONE
My brother-in-law does this and I think it’s genius. Send out a Google
Calendar or Facebook invite to all of your friends and then sit back and
relax. Your friends will make new contacts while you touch base with a
handful of your friends. If you’re sick of happy hours, try arranging a
hike. Hiking provides an excellent and natural way for people to
mingle; you are usually walking two-by-two, but inevitably, someone
falls behind and another person moves up!
DOUBLE DATE
It is a shame that more people don’t regularly double date. Invite your
friend and her boyfriend for dinner or even just after-dinner drinks. If
your friend is single, have your boyfriend produce a single friend to
bring along too. This conveniently allows you to spend time with your
boyfriend and girlfriend in a natural way and provides an opportunity
for your friends to get to know your boyfriend—which helps when you need
a second opinion."
Would you offer any other suggestions? What works for you?
Ever since the book came out, I've received feedback about how it's made women think about friendships throughout their lives, as well as who is in their lives now. The goal of this blog is to open up and create a dialogue about friendships: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Each week I will post my thoughts, experiences, as well as various articles, topics or quotes that I feel are important when examining female friendships. Please feel free to leave comments; I look forward to hearing from you!
Email me: survivingfemalefriendships@gmail.com
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