From this day forward.

I love this picture of me and my mister, too. Just like the pic from my blog last month (you should subscribe to never miss a riveting post ?) this was snapped by someone else while we were just being us. We were in Pacific Grove, California, at Lover’s Point and had crawled up to this little unoccupied spot. We took selfies and watched the otters playing in the ocean beneath us. There may have also been a little kissing involved. They do call it Lover’s Point after all.

We’d been there around fifteen minutes when another couple came crawling up to our perch. “I promise we’re not stalkers,” the lady said as her man rolled his eyes and laughed. “You were just so cute, I had to take a picture and thought you might like to have it.” She texted it to me and we had a really fun conversation with them.

Which brings me to the second part of a lesson we developed about keeping fun and laughter in your marriage. (Again, read last month’s post to learn more.)

Make friends. Getting to know other people gives you people to laugh with and, sometimes, laugh about. My mister has always been better at this than I, but I do make a conscious effort to start conversations because I’ve learned that impromptu friendships are a lot of fun.

• Where you are. Get involved in a small group at church. Invite friends from your neighborhood onto your porch and into your home. Join a book club, a wine club, a German kazoo club—whatever— to forge bonds with people who share your interests.
• Where you live. If everything works out right, one day your kids will become your friends. Cultivate fun around the table and as you live life. I can’t say that this has happened with all of our kids, but I’m holding out hope.
• Where you go. Strike up conversations when you travel. Choose a BNB instead of a hotel so you’re in closer contact with others. One night in West Virginia, we asked our BNB host if he’d like to go to dinner with us. He accepted and took us to this fabulous hole-in-the-wall place we would have never found on our own. You can also ask me about an infamous kudzu conversation, if you’re a Southerner and want a good laugh. Sorry, non-Southerners. It’s a kudzu thing, you wouldn’t understand.

As we were leaving Lover’s Point, I looked up and saw our new friends having their own special moment. I returned their favor and texted this snap to them. 

That’s the thing about making friends. You never know when they’ll pop into your life again or, at the very least, bring a smile to your heart with a sweet memory.

I’d love to hear about an unexpected friendship that came your way!