Finding My Tribe

Almost every day new people walk into our lives.  From the friendly macanic changing your oil to random coffee lovers at Starbucks- every day we walk with so many new faces that we have never met before.  But what is it about certain people that makes us become instant friends?  Is it having the same love for Pinterest recipes?  Or a passion for long Sunday drives?  Or attending the same church or civic group?  Who do we add to our "Tribe" and why?

I was recently watching a Shas of Sunset (yes, I am addicted to reality TV) and one of them referenced their group of friends as their tribe.  I instantly loved that thought.  But what I loved even more was the idea that a person could have different sets of tribes.  And that is what I love about my various groups of friends - we are all friends for different reasons, but we all seem to have the same thread that keeps us all laughing.

Sad faces after a member of our Work Tribe, Jen, moved

After I moved to Dubuque a year ago, I became so much closer to my coworkers in my new office.  I knew Jodi, Cindy, and Jen fairly well over the years that we had worked on the same team, but I didn't know that quite as friends yet. Quickly we formed a great work tribe that included breakfast potlucks, a dammit doll, and hours spent together working on the fight against cancer.  Soon they all became friends first, and coworkers second. 

Then as I started to get involved in the Dubuque community, I attended my first Dubuque Jaycees meeting.  As a former member of the Mason City chapter, I knew this would be a great way to meet other young professionals in the area.  I quickly became involved in their various community services events, by selling beer tickets, and attending social gatherings.  From this group I met my cycling partner, Eric.  Eric then led me to my Bike Tribe.  From the fast paced Monday night group to the veteran riders of the Thursday night group, I quickly became part of the ride.  From these groups we even started our own rides and The Flat Iowa Society.  I love sharing the roads with all members of my bike tribe and miss seeing them on a weekly basis now that the sun is setting so soon and the chill of winter is starting to sting.

The Ring Master, Bearded Lady and Strong Man at my 27th Birthday!

One of my favorite things about my tribes is when they hold true dispite the miles.  My Mason City friends are one of the reasons I keep coming back to visit and to relax.  This past week I had been in town for about four days and loved to fill my time with laughter from all of the faces I don't get to see on a regular basis anymore.  Together as a group we have celebrated success and failurs, engagements and breakups, and sunshine and clouds.  But we got through all of them together and in the process formed a Birthday Tribe.  A group of us always block out the calendar to get together to celebrate our Birthdays during the year.  Many times these parties have fun themes (crazy cat lady, ribbons and curls, BACON, etc), activities, and of course cake. No matter where any of us of live, we all manage to try and the make the trip to celebrate of our favorite day of the year. 

I think in life we are constantly adding new tribes of friends - your college tribe, your high school tribe, former places of work/living tribes.  Many times these tribes shrink and grow over the years as people make changes that result in becoming closer or farther apart - both personally and physically.  The challenge is always to decide which tribes is worth keeping and which are ok to grow out of as we continue to change in our lives. But at the end of the day, to make sure you are in a tribe that supports you and brings out your best.  Ones that pick you up when you fall with undying support and love.  Those, my friends, are the best tribes to be a part of.

To those of you who I am blessed to call members of my various tribes - thank you.  You all have made the challenging parts of my life ones where I feel nothing but support and love.  Please know that every kind word you have expressed and every hug (*shutter*) have been heard and felt and truly appreciated over the years.  Keep being the amazing friends that you are to so many people and thank you for letting me be a part of your tribe.  Nothing makes me happier than adding new and amazing people to my life and to my tribe.