12 October 2009

Making Friends

Have you ever watched kids make friends? It's fascinating. They just run up to one another and say HI! and find an instant commonality in their toys, what they're wearing, their parents, whatever, and they play, smile, laugh, and they're friends. That's it. That's all it takes.

Can you imagine if we, as adults, made friends like kids?

Scene: Busy NYC street. 9AM

Man 1:
Wow! Hi! I like your briefcase!
Man 2: Yeah! Thanks! Oh look! You've got one just like mine!
Man 1: Isn't that awesome? Where do you work?
Man 2: I work on Wall Street!
Man 1: My dad worked on Wall Street! We should have lunch together!
Man 2: We should! I like bananas! Do you have a Grandma?
Man 1: My Grandma made banana bread! We should have bananas for lunch!
Man 2: Will you come to my house for a party?
Man 1: A party?!? I love parties! Will there be cake?
Man 2: Lots of cake! With sprinkles! You should come!

Scene: Hair salon

Woman 1: OMG! You use the pink curlers, too?
Woman 2: I do! I love the pink curlers! They're so great!
Woman 1: I love them too! Do you go to the tea shop?
Woman 2: There's a tea shop? I love tea! Mango is my favorite.
Woman 1: Mine too! Except mango made me throw up so now I like tangerine!
Woman 2: We should totally go together!
Woman 1: Yeah! And we should get some suckers! I love suckers!
Woman 2: Oh, did you see my pink shoes? I love pink.
Woman 1: Me, too. I have pink shoes, too! We should be friends!
Woman 2: OK!

Isn't it sad that we let things like what we're wearing, what we weigh, our skin color, our political beliefs, our religions, our assumptions, get in the way of the friendships we have yet to make and may never make? Kids have it so easy. There's nothing standing in their way.

Except us.

16 comments:

jayna said...

You just gave me the mental image of befriending people the way E does. She's a hand holder. Random kids on the playground, runs up and grabs their hand.

That would fly real well in the grown up world ;-)

Lynda said...

I often think about how much easier it was to make friends as a kid.

Irrational Dad said...

I'm not going to lie... That scene in the hair salon with the women is EXACTLY how I imagine things to be in real life with y'all.

Woman 1: Oooooooo, cute shoes. Let's go shopping.
Woman 2: Yeah, I know a place. I'll drive.

BFF's 4evar.

Molly's Mom said...

This post made me giggle...but it also made me stop and think. Do I stand in the way of my making friends or M making friends? Maybe.

Crap.

Unknown said...

I think I'd love to live in YOUR world.

sybil law said...

Hahahaha - love it! Sure beats being dogs and sniffing each others' butts. :)

hello haha narf said...

funny thing is, that is mostly how i make friends. my best friend was a customer at the bank i was a teller at years ago (the first time we went out her boyfriend thought i was a man and my boyfriend thought she was a man because "people just don't go out to dinner with their bank teller."). another great friend sat next to me on jury duty for a few days. another i met because we were the only ones stupid enough to swim during a party in a pool that wasn't heated.

but i am weird...i love people.

Patois42 said...

Oh, I love the thought of it all!

Hey, is that your car? That is so neat. I have one just like it, only it's black. Wanna be friends?

Gypsy said...

I miss that easy camaraderie of youth.

Ashlie- Mommycosm said...

I'm with Lou - I wanna live in your world, too.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

I am laughing so incredibly hard right now! I just read it out loud (in different voices) to my husband. I laughed and laughed and then? He looked at me funny.

I still don't know why.

Jeni said...

So true on how easily children can make friends. The only thing stopping that from continuing on through out life is that somewhere along the way, parents and other adults will wander in and teach them things about bigotry, prejudice, bias and stuff like that. We all do need to adapt the children's way of friendship -and then, keep it working that way!

Not Afraid to Use It said...

Actually, that is really kind of how we make blog friends. Didn't we start out like this?

-Oh! I love your blog!
-Ooooh! I love yours too!
-I've got kids!
-So do I!
-My family lives in ATL!
-So do I!
-I have a great surgeon!
-So do I!
-We have to be friends!!!
-Yes, we do!!

Avitable said...

That's totally how I make friends, though:

Me: I love your boobs.
Woman: I love my boobs too!
Me: Let's be friends! And touch your boobs together!
Woman: Yay!

Shelli said...

Osama Bin Laden--Wow, we have similar coloring.

Barack Obama--Yeah, we do. My name is Barack Obama, what's yours?

OBL-Osama. Hey, that sounds like Obama.

BO-Yes, it does. You have cool sandals, I wish I could wear sandals more often.

OBL--The sandals work well for where I live. Where do you live?
BO--In a big White House. How about you?

OBL--I live in a cave. It's pretty cool. You should come visit sometime.

BO--Definitely. You should come to the White House sometime. We could be great friends.

OBL--Awesome. I'm all for it.

We of course would have to get past the terroristic acts and the possibility that he might try to assassinate him, but...In a perfect world.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Jayna - Oh, yeah. We ought to do that and secretly film it and just see how many people lose their minds. :)

Lynda - It was totally easier! Wish I remembered it.

Joe - Don't forget, we also break out spontaneously into baby oil-fueled pillow fights. :P

Molly's Mom - Prob'ly. Doesn't that piss you off? It does me.

LceeL - Oh, it would totally be awesome. Chocolate would have NO calories!

Sybil Law - EEEEWWWWWW!!!!!

Hello Haha Narf - No, you're not weird. You just don't let ridiculous shit get in your way. And that? Is AWESOME!

Patois - Hee hee!

Gypsy - Me, too.

MommyCosm - No admission required! Come on in!

Tracey - Husbands are like that. Either that or he farted. :)

Jeni - That and at some point, some other kid, having been influenced by adults, will betray/hurt them. It always comes back to us big kids, doesn't it?

NATUI - Hee hee! That's totally how it started out! Excellent point!

Avitable - Only you, m'dear. Only you.

Shelli - Girl, you slay me!