New from old.

If you know me well, you'll know that I don't always play well with others. I don't have a lot of patience with people, and what you see is what you get. I'm not a socialite, and air kisses are not a part of my personal body English. I have no tolerance for the "niceties" of social climbing, because I tend to see it as dishonest- I either like people, or I don't, and I don't care if their checkbook is stuffed or their lineage can be traced back to the Mayflower. I understand that these things are important to some people, and that's fine. But it's not for me.

If I like you, you know it. You won't get an air kiss from me- you'll get a hug. I don't trust easily, and I don't trust often. Why? I have no idea. I was raised in an intact home, with loving parents, so I can't blame them. I had no catastrophic trauma in my childhood. I'm just that way.

Bottom line- I have a lot of acquaintences, but not a whole lot of people that I truly consider friends. I've been described as "open," "friendly," and "sociable." I meet a lot of people in my line of work, but usually I'm just glad to get home to my family and my home. If I do socialize, it's usually with people who have children around the same ages as mine, or someone close by.

It's even rarer for me to connect with another woman. I have an older brother, and was a tomboy growing up. I just tend to do better relating to men- maybe because they rarely feel the need to conform to the social etiquette that seems to escape my comprehension. I have met someone that I do connect with on a fundamental level. We didn't meet by design, at least not my design. It was a chance meeting with her husband, then a business relationship. But that changed recently. It certainly helps that our kids get along well- not perfectly, but that's good. They get along and then... they sort of fight like brothers... then all is forgotten again.

Which made me think. My children don't usually get along with other kids in that way. They also have a couple of good friends, but I've rarely seen them take a "relationship" to the next level like that. Porter and Jensen treated these kids like long lost relatives that it was OK to have the Jerry Springer-esque knock down drag out screamfest with... knowing that everything would be smoothed over (with remarkably little parental intervention) and would be water under the bridge at the end.

As I watched the kids, I noticed that my feelings had changed towards their parents, and especially towards their mom. (I don't usually pay much attention to the warm fuzzy realm of "how are you FEEEEELLIIIIINGGG?") They weren't clients any more, they were more. It hit me like a truck, as I found myself saying one simple sentence.

This one sentence that told me that my perception of this person had changed. And I couldn't believe it as it came out of my mouth, because I didn't even think before I spoke. It's not the kind of question that you ask of a client, but it IS the kind of question you ask a friend.

"Hey- we'll see you at the pool in a bit- do you have any tampons?"