#OperationLunch.

Seven years ago, I wrote a blog post about Ladies Who Lunch, in which I expressed a desire to find a group of ladies to, you guessed it, have lunch with.  It was around this time that I adopted my Say Yes to Lunch Policy.  The policy stemmed from my first birthday in a new city, on which I didn’t know a dang person in town.  I blindly sent an email to a handful of food bloggers that I stalked on Twitter and asked them if they’d join me for a birthday lunch.  And guess what?  THEY CAME.

After that birthday, I implemented a new mantra:  say yes to lunch.  If someone asked me to lunch (or coffee or dinner or drinks) I just said YES.  Even if I didn’t know the person, or thought we’d have nothing in common, and ESPECIALLY when I really just didn’t want to go, I said yes.  Similar to going on a blind date, having lunch with a stranger can be a little… shall we say, scary.  The thing that surprised me most about these lunches was that although the other person was often feeling just as awkward about the whole thing as me, they (just like me) were seeking a deeper connection, a friend, a lunchtime tribe.  The truth is that in this era of hyper-technology and go-getter syndrome (I just made this term up and subsequently self-diagnosed it), many of us are “busier” than ever and missing having in-real-life friends.  It’s not just a matter of loneliness, it’s a matter of real, raw, personal connections.

Over these last two years in Columbus (holy cow how has it been two years?!) I haven’t been proactive on my mission to lunch, and with the semester winding down, I think it’s time to refocus on this ever important goal.  This summer, I’m setting a personal goal of inviting one new person to lunch each week.  Maybe I’ll even write about it here on the blog.  Whatdya say friends?  Will you join me in #operationlunch?

THIS COULD BE US: