Weddings are only one of two events that really bring friends and family member together, unlike any others. Both occasions are ones where you can really judge who cares about you based on who does and doesn’t show up (if they were invited to your wedding, that is).
I’m in Calgary now, and have been for a week. I still have two weeks to go. With one of my close cousin’s weddings happening this past weekend, I inevitably met up with my extended family that I haven’t seen in years.
This picture is from a few years ago, at another cousin’s wedding.
All this wedding stuff and seeing members of my family has me thinking about my social relationships. Who would show up to my wedding and funeral? I had a birthday get-together here in Calgary, last week. I invited about 12 people who I thought were friends, but only 2 showed up. I understand that people have conflicting work schedules, etc. But no one, save one person, made an effort to arrange to see me another time during my visit. I’ve been making an effort to work on my social connections this year, but maybe I’m focusing too much on friends rather than family?
I think I’m doing well in terms of online social connections, and have made a few more IRL connections this year, but I really want to get back in touch with my extended family again. I was able to a bit with some of my many cousins-who didn’t know what city I live in.
Being here in Calgary makes me happy that I chose to live in Vancouver. Seeing friends and family occasionally is pretty great, but I don’t need to see them all the time to feel like we are connected.
