I'm Just Sayin'

So, I’m really not a people person.

I know, shocker, right?

It’s not that I dislike people. I’m not even bad at making friends. But it doesn’t come easy to me. I hate talking to new people. I would prefer to skip the whole “getting to know you” phase. I don’t think I make very good first impressions. I don’t talk to strangers (stranger danger!)

But some of my closest family and friends LOVE getting to know people. I grew up with a mother who would spend 30 minutes discussing her favorite recipe for meatloaf with a stranger at the grocery store. I rarely make eye contact with people at the grocery store. I have friends who, in a room crowded with people they don’t know, get all excited about meeting new friends. Excited? That scenario gives me a headache. I can fake it, but when I get home, I just crash from the sheer exhaustion of–ugh–making small talk.

Sometimes, though, I benefit from those gregarious friends. Recently, on a mini-vacation, I sat by the pool with one of “those” people. I saw her eyeing a young couple nearby. I knew she wanted to talk to them. I could see it in her eyes.

And when she began that inevitable conversation, I got to watch something beautiful. I watched a friendship begin. I watched bonding happen. I watched two people, strangers mere minutes before, laughing and sharing.

Once my friend broke the ice, I joined the conversation (I like to make my friends do the hard stuff). The three of us had such a great time, discovering common threads in our lives, sharing the good and the bad.

I have no idea if that friendship will last beyond those few short hours. But I don’t think friendships are defined by time. I think friendships serve different purposes at different seasons. Maybe we all crossed paths to offer a brief encouragement. Maybe more. But I don’t think it matters.

What matters is a friend taught me to step outside of what’s comfortable. To share in the unknown.

Stranger danger be damned!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.