Monday, February 22, 2010

Busting out of Ruts!

That has been our theme during the past year, and we have invited a few of our friends along to join us on the adventure.  So many things in life are out of our control, and the ruts simply grow deeper and deeper as we press onward doing the same things that need to be repeated over and over and over... (How can one really change up laundry?  If anyone finds a way, let me know)

But that doesn't mean that everything in our lives must always be the same.  There are plenty of variables out there to make life interesting if we only make a little extra effort.  One area is our social lives.  It is usually the first to be sacrificed because of our busy schedules, and that is fine because our families and work and church should be our priorities. I don't believe that our friendships don't merit some priority as well. We, however, had fallen into a very deep rut.  If we did find ourselves with a free weekend evening, we might try to call someone last minute to go out to dinner.  Usually without any planning ahead, though, we were rarely successful. 

This had to change.  So we took it upon ourselves to make the change.  We instigated what we affectionately call, The Rut-Busters Club.  It consists of a pretty good group of friends who have known each other for years, are comfortable together, and who otherwise we rarely see anymore because our kids are so busy.

The challenge is to take turns hosting a party.  Not just any party.  We have tried to use a little creativity to come up with ideas that get us up and doing things we haven't done before.  Cooperative spirit and good humor are usually called for too.

Here is a sampling of some of our adventures together.  Our original plan of monthly get-togethers has had to slide a little.  We really are a very busy group of people and sometimes the ruts are difficult to buck, but we are trying.
This last group of pictures was taken at our party last Saturday night.  We had our own "Project Runway", divided up into teams, and cut and sewed until we came up with stunning ensembles for our very own runway show.  No pictures are included of that to protect the "innocent".

6 comments:

Kim said...

Looks like a lot of fun!! What a great idea!!

5Youngers said...

What a fun group of friends you have. I recognize almost all of those couples. I love your idea for a rut busting club... so creative and fun! I loved the toga wearing picture, you all look like you have so much fun together. Great friends should definitely be cherished!!!

Maili said...

Looks like a blast! Good idea! We used to get together with several couples from Soda Springs for what we called "dinner group," each taking a month to host dinner and games. But alas, they have all moved away. I hope you don't mind if we steal your idea. I love it!

I make laundry more interesting by folding and ironing in front of a favorite DVD.

Nancy said...

How fun!! I enjoyed your photos, I would have loved to see the runway part of your last "meeting"!!

Laura said...

So. Stinkin'. Fun!!! Great photos too! :-)

Nancy Christie said...

Dear Ardith,
It's a great idea but you could make it even more of a "rut-buster" if you add some new faces to the group and/or make sure you try new restaurants or activities instead of the "same old, same old."
I have lots of other tips for rut-busting that I cover in my workshops. Check out my site at www.communityofchange.com!
And don't forget to celebrate "Jump-Start Day" March 14!
Nancy Christie, "Change" Coach