People Are for Different Chapters, And That’s Okay

By Patty Roe, Founder & Executive Director

There’s a quiet sting that comes from being left off an invite list.

It’s subtle, almost invisible. It’s the kind of disappointment no one sees except you. A photo you weren’t part of. A gathering that moved on without you. The message that never came.

When I begrudgingly moved back to Michigan after years away, I expected a soft landing. I thought time and nostalgia would pull me back into my old circles. And for a moment, it felt like that might happen.

But over and over, the invitations came and went.

The photos were posted.

And I didn’t make the list.

Sometimes I think my husband was more surprised than me, but he's also very inclusive.

It hurt. Not because anyone did anything wrong, but because belonging is something that lives in the present, not the past. The women I once called sisters had built years of shared life here. I’d lived an entirely different story… in different cities, different seasons, different versions of myself.

Eventually, I had to accept what was true:

We weren’t going to be those friends anymore.

And that was okay.

I could have been bitter. I could have shrunk or shut down. But bitterness keeps you from seeing possibility. So instead, I shifted my perspective.

I looked at my life, the travel, the risk, the reinvention, and the courage it took to keep starting over. All of that shaped the woman I am today. And I wouldn’t trade that for a single invite to anyone's party or weekend away.

Now, as I enter the second half of my life, I’m grateful. I lived boldly. I loved deeply. I grew beyond the edges of what I ever imagined for myself. Michigan is home for now. But I don’t pretend the roots have to go too deep. My life has always had motion. That’s who I am.

And here’s the truth I’ve learned, both personally and professionally:

People are for different chapters.

Some walk with you for miles.

Some for moments.

Some stay in your memory but not your life.

And some simply don’t come along for the next season. It’s not out of malice, but because your paths grew in different directions.

Let them. (Thank you, Mel.)

Let people be for the chapter they were meant for.

Let your story expand without resentment.

Let your belonging come from the life you're building now.

Because that’s what PS Society is really about:

Creating the kind of community we all deserve.

A place where women aren’t waiting to be invited in; they’re choosing each other.

A place where connection isn’t nostalgia; it’s nourishment.

A place where you don’t have to explain your journey; you’re simply welcomed as you are.

The woman I am today is someone I’m grateful to meet. I've invite her anywhere.

And she belongs. Not because she was added to a list, but because she built a life that welcomes her.

That’s the soft landing I was looking for all along.

P.S. You don't need to wait for an invitation. You already belong here.