I have lasagna friends!
When my friend had a baby last year, a bunch of folks dropped off lasagna and other frozen meals. This is fairly common in the USA if someone needs help.
I realized that if something big happened to me, no one would bring me lasagna. And it was completely my fault because I'd never invested in my community before. "Life goal: make lasagna friends," I wrote in my diary, and it was a large part of why I left Seattle and moved to Austin.
The first 6 months here were hard. I had no idea how to give or how to take! I was a sad little island unto myself because that's all I'd ever known.
Then the snowpocalypse happened in February, where thousands were without power or water, and I opened my home to friends. One of those friends offered to help me fix up my house as a thank you, and together we installed doors and tore down sheds... we had so much fun that I later invited a bunch of friends over to help me clean up the trash garden that came with my house.
"Thank you for letting us help," they said. And I was like, 'woah' these people WANT to help me. It's not a chore to them, it's a pleasure! It was a big moment in me deciding to let people in. I became joyfully present for my friends' journeys. I bought dinners and drinks. And the more someone invested in me, the more I invested in them in return.
Which brings us to now. I just got COVID. And I have only told a handful of people but almost every person I've told has offered to help. To come over with groceries, or to call and check up ("Do you need someone to check up on you every day and make sure you're not dead?" omg Neville 😂😂😂), or to deliver food...
You know what this means??? Y'ALL. I have lasagna friends now! Omg!!
It makes me so happy!
PS: Thank you Jenn, Matt, Darla, Shawn, Anna, Nev, Michelle, Will, and Zac for being lasagna friends! 💕
PPS: I'm fully vaxxed (Pfizer). Be careful out there, Delta variant is some real shit.