Pop Rock sabotage

Last night on the way to church I was catching Angela up on the things coming up on our social calendar in the next few weeks, and we talked about how much our lives have changed in the past couple of years. We moved to Dallas four years ago without knowing many people and we felt isolated for awhile, but in the past couple of years we've had the opportunity to meet a lot of great new people and cultivate a plethora of new friendships. We're blessed, and friends make us feel warm and fuzzy, and all of that...but friendships are a lot of work! They require time and energy I've found, and if ya don't put some work into 'em, they fizzle. Big revelation, I know. Sometimes it's just easier to sit at home on the couch and watch an L Word marathon all by ourselves. But we're doing our best to put ourselves out there.

We met a great new couple at church last night. It was the first time they had been to the 20something group that I co-lead every Wednesday, and we were able to chat afterward about some of the things that we had been mutually inspired by during the group discussion (I love gettin' my inspiration on). But I think I made a bad impression. The feeling has carried over into today, so that must mean I made a faux pas of some sort. As we were standing there talking, all I could think about was this nagging pain in my stomach that had risen up out of nowhere about thirty minutes earlier, and made my insides feel like I had about a pound of Pop Rocks rolling around in there. Exploding gravel I tell ya. Only nothing ever exploded. It just felt like I was being poked by sharp objects under my ribcage. And it made me light-headed and sweaty so I had to start fanning myself while they were talking. I noticed that everything I said and everything they said sounded like it was in a hollow tunnel, and I couldn't fully concentrate on any of it. Who knew that Pop Rocks could make life so surreal. What was this? Hot flashes already? While I was standing there fanning myself and planning my strategy for cutting the conversation short I was also thinking about how I would likely regret this sweaty, distracted behavior. These girls were super cool and I wanted to be their new friend. But the Pop Rocks persisted and we had to leave. As we were walking out Angela saw the sweat beads on my forehead and touched my back and told me I was burning up which was not news to me, but by the time we got to the car the terrible sickness had passed. Does the bird flu come and go this quickly? The whole thing ticked me off. The Pop Rocks had sabotaged my first impression in a potential new friendship and just like that they were gone. Maybe I was just allergic to these people.

No terrible yet fleeting illnesses today. All is well with my insides. I'm having lunch later at Mi Cocina with my new friend Anna, whom I adore, so I'm looking forward to Mama's tacos and chattin'. Yay for friends!