Being an introvert has its challenges. Being that any sort of unknown scares the hell out of me and the fact that I avoid large gatherings like the plague, finding and making friends is not a skill I possess naturally. It also doesn’t help that I also have a slightly introverted husband who, as a means of introduction, tells new people we meet that we are “socially awkward and don’t have a lot of friends.” aawwwkkward.
But, the perk of being an introvert is, the friends I have made, are long-time, loyal ride and die beotches. The people I have opened up to have, over time, come to love me in all my weirdness. Most of my friends, I’ve had for 15+ year, and I will have them forever. (Mainly because they remember me when I was thin. Never forget!!!!! The skinny girl is trapped in there somewhere!)
The best part of these friends is that even though most of them are scattered across the country, we can pick up where we left off and after a lengthy catch up session, we are back cracking the same jokes and acting like we live next door to each other.
Before we go any farther, I don’t mean to shortchange my close range friends on this post. Know I love you all, old and new, and am so thankful you are HERE with me in this God forsaken frozen tundra we call northwest Ohio. NEVER LEAVE ME!!! We have lost too many already!!!! Two of my best friends are right here and know I couldn’t live without you. One gets to see me in all my crazy glory EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Give this woman an award because let’s face it, I can get seriously annoying when exposed to in large doses. The other gets to see my lovely face mostly on Sundays and Mondays, when I put on my most angelic face and pretend I am not cray cray. But, she sees through the facade and loves me anyways. These girls make me laugh daily and I pray they never abandon me for greener pastures, or say, popular parks ruled by a big mouse. And I can’t leave out my blood related friends, my sister, but she already got a post, so quit yer bitchin. And my sisters by marriage, who have put up with me almost as long as my actual sister, I love you three more than you’ll ever know. (But, seriously SK, when are the Girl Scout cookies coming???)
This post is for my long distance friends, two of which I had the wonderful pleasure of escaping this freakin freezing weather for a few days and hiding out in Florida with.
I met these girls in college (remember THIN) and 5 minutes after meeting them, I knew we were soul mates. Ever meet someone and it just clicks? Well, that was us. That was 1997 and even though we are all grown up, we are still closer than ever.
We couldn’t be more different. One is a super positive save-the-world social worker, who is seriously the world’s biggest extrovert. This girl attracts friends like flies. PEOPLE LOVE HER. She is one of the most genuine real people you’ll ever meet. The other is an extremely successful PR genius who is beautiful inside and out. The one who’s always put together, even when she’s hot and sweaty after a workout. The one who, after 16 years, still let’s us tease her mercilessly for taking over an hour to get ready every single day. And me, the neurotic, introverted, long married, mother of two who makes jokes CONSTANTLY. Especially during the inappropriate moments – that’s when I really shine.
We have been through it all. College, hangovers, graduation, job hunts, crazy boyfriends, big moves, promotions, career changes, falling in love, marriage, infertility, sickness, death, postpartum depression, babies. We are basically married because we hit all the vow highlights. Love/cherish, sickness/health, good/bad, you get the gist – we are in this until the end that’s for sure.
I have watched these women grow more beautiful, stronger and smarter with each year. They make me laugh, help me cry, build me up and support me no matter how far apart we are or how long the time passes between conversations. We are very different, but share the same love and respect for each other, which makes the bond strong no matter our differences. Even if one of us did vote for Romney.
I love you girls and hope this post does you justice.
Confessions of an Introvert 