I completely agree. I make it a point to know the names of the people I see each day. The security guards at the desk of our office building (conveniently both named Richard), the owner and staff of the wonderful Mexican cafe on my corner, the couple who own the liquor store I get my lottery tickets at (and a fine rosé). The produce stocker at Whole Foods, the new neighbor who just moved in (giving her the names of those in our complex), whoever is helping me on the phone or at a shop so I can thank them by name. It's not hard to extend that courtesy, make that human connection, be kind and polite and remind others to be friendly. Thanks, Karen. xo
You ARE a friend in deed. Thank you for being my friend. And I agree completely -- it is time for all of us to get our friendly back on. The world needs more friends, Thanks for a great reminder -- and to point out how it all contributes to our overall good health.
Hey, Hi there Karen!!! Well for a change your challenge this week is an easy one for me!! I am proud to say that I almost never meet a stranger and maybe sometimes I am too friendly but part of that comes from being from the Midwest. Midwesterners are normally just a little more down to earth. But I learned how to "hug" when I moved to California. Here is a hug for you Karen!
Friendships have different levels, and while I do the things you suggest we do in terms of chatting with people at the grocery store or post office (instead of looking at my phone), and going to community events at the library, for example, these friendly social connections have not translated into deep friendships. By "deep" I mean, the level of friend you could call in the middle of the night when coping with an emergency or breakdown that might feel needy or shameful. I can count on one hand the friends I could call for help that way, which saddens me. How do we translate fun social friends into deep friends? All my deep friends are from my past, our friendships cemented and deepened by shared experiences such as high school or our having babies at the same age. Now I struggle to make deep friendships as an older adult. Runner friends often turn into deep friendships, because of personal conversations shared during runs, but runner friends my age are fewer and farther between than they were when I was younger. I guess the best I can do at this point is host more neighbor get-togethers, which I try to do a couple of times a year. I'm blessed to live in a place where we know and count on our neighbors to help each other; it's not like in an urban setting where neighbors remain anonymous. For that, I'm grateful. Thanks for your post.
Bringing Friendly Back
I completely agree. I make it a point to know the names of the people I see each day. The security guards at the desk of our office building (conveniently both named Richard), the owner and staff of the wonderful Mexican cafe on my corner, the couple who own the liquor store I get my lottery tickets at (and a fine rosé). The produce stocker at Whole Foods, the new neighbor who just moved in (giving her the names of those in our complex), whoever is helping me on the phone or at a shop so I can thank them by name. It's not hard to extend that courtesy, make that human connection, be kind and polite and remind others to be friendly. Thanks, Karen. xo
You ARE a friend in deed. Thank you for being my friend. And I agree completely -- it is time for all of us to get our friendly back on. The world needs more friends, Thanks for a great reminder -- and to point out how it all contributes to our overall good health.
Hey, Hi there Karen!!! Well for a change your challenge this week is an easy one for me!! I am proud to say that I almost never meet a stranger and maybe sometimes I am too friendly but part of that comes from being from the Midwest. Midwesterners are normally just a little more down to earth. But I learned how to "hug" when I moved to California. Here is a hug for you Karen!
Friendships have different levels, and while I do the things you suggest we do in terms of chatting with people at the grocery store or post office (instead of looking at my phone), and going to community events at the library, for example, these friendly social connections have not translated into deep friendships. By "deep" I mean, the level of friend you could call in the middle of the night when coping with an emergency or breakdown that might feel needy or shameful. I can count on one hand the friends I could call for help that way, which saddens me. How do we translate fun social friends into deep friends? All my deep friends are from my past, our friendships cemented and deepened by shared experiences such as high school or our having babies at the same age. Now I struggle to make deep friendships as an older adult. Runner friends often turn into deep friendships, because of personal conversations shared during runs, but runner friends my age are fewer and farther between than they were when I was younger. I guess the best I can do at this point is host more neighbor get-togethers, which I try to do a couple of times a year. I'm blessed to live in a place where we know and count on our neighbors to help each other; it's not like in an urban setting where neighbors remain anonymous. For that, I'm grateful. Thanks for your post.
Challenge excepted! I think I’m pretty friendly, but I’m going to be extra friendly and watch how people respond. Should be fun!
Great newsletter as always! I’m glad you included your new Instagram handle. I didn’t realize I wasn’t following it!
Excited to dive in! :))
Didn’t know there was a ❤️ button at the bottom!