Get Out of Your Sweat Pants – Why Friends Matters

Last week was not a particularly good week. Sometimes being a single mom just plain sucks and I would be lying if I said all is well but there are some days  where I just don’t even want to  get out of sweats.

As it so happens, one of my very best friends called to check in which was quite the coincidence since I was going to call her to ask about her ailing parents.

As we both apologized for not calling, she asked “What’s wrong?” At that point I started rambling about how disappointing the week was going, blah, blah, blah.

“Let’s go for drinks, I have some ideas for you.”

“Great idea, I need a break from wandering around my apartment in sweats.” In actuality, I had been rewatching Game of Thrones and Suits wallowing in my “I have no motivation, self pity.”

As the day wore on, I really had no enthusiasm or motivation to get out my sweats let alone shower or put on makeup to look presentable to go to a bar.

Later in the afternoon, with no suggestions on where to go for drinks, I suggested that she come over to my apartment for drinks and appetizers.

Her adamant response, “No, you have got to get out of your apartment, I bet you are still in your sweats. I have enough to worry about, I can’t be worried you are heading down this sad little path. I will meet you at 5:30, no excuses.”

So I dragged my sorry ass off the sofa and got ready to meet her. As crazy as New York City may be to live, the one thing about going “outside” is that you are exposed to the frenzied and frenetic world that for better is infectious. People are out, doing things, living their lives and it really does pull you into another frame of mind.

Meeting my girlfriends for drinks was the best medicine, okay maybe it was the bottle of Pinot Grigio that was the best medicine. So not one girlfriend met me but my other good friend also joined in. I really appreciate them meeting me and cheering me up, actually it was not so much cheering up as a motivational pep talk which was in fact really helpful. Sometimes, you need outside forces to tell you what you already know and for me, much like dieting, your to do list needs to be actualized for it to actually happen.