Reflections #5: On Friendship

As I grow older, I think friendship between women is a thing to cherish.

Susan Glaspell

July has been and continues to be a delightful month for my friendship goals. God knows I cherish the bonds I have built over time with some of my female friends.

Even though July has been a whirlwind of activity, I found myself at hotels and little cafes with my girls laughing and catching up over good food and tea. What a joy to be able to connect in such pure love amidst the rigours of life!

We used to hang out more before we hit our 30s. We seemed to have more than 24 hours in a day. We created memories together at concerts, church gatherings, luncheons, weddings, staycations, birthday celebrations and many more. But adulting caught up with us and now we have to book dates to meet!! Schedules are a big deal thanks to capitalism.

This article wrote itself over dinner and tea with Vicks and Mapeti. I decided to share my tips that enable me keep up with my friends inspite the busyness of life:

Check in using Whatsapp chats, voice notes and video calls. All you need is data and you prosper like Burna Boy with chipper app. (pun intended!)

Call your friends up once in a while. I set date calls with friends this way we all find time to talk without disruptions. And we can be on phone for hours. Nothing hurried.

Set dates to meet up. Mark them in your calendar and guard them jealously. Don`t allow disruptions unless its an emergency. I met with E for breakfast after she reached out and we set a date. Spontaneous does not seem to work in adulting. I had dinner with Mapeti and Vicks yesterday after we fought for our date. My next available time would be in August! hahaha.

Attend their work or personal events and engagements. This will help you see your friends (1). making power moves, (ii). SEE them and hang our even if briefly and (iii). you understand and appreciate their work better. I recently hosted the Meet Your Author event in collaboration with Goethe-Zentrum Kampala and Vicks came by. Don`t wait for the calendared dates. Use these too.

After work hangouts also work well. Sometimes, I leave work for tea plot or wine plot for a few hours (This is rare.) During this unwinding, we catch up, laugh and walk away better connected.

Attending events together. I have explored this for Sofar Kampala that happens once a month. I always attend it with my sister who also doubles as a good friend. I also invited friends to an art exhibition last month and we had so much fun.

Try the above tips and share your tips with me in the comment section below👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿