I think the singular thing that all my friends have in common is that they make me laugh. Gut-busting, tear-streaming laugh. I don't think I could be friends with someone who didn't make me genuinely laugh out loud.
Tonight was my "bon voyage" happy hour, though I don't leave my job until next Wednesday. So a handful of friends from my current job and a few friends from prior placements all congregated at a bar/restaurant not too far from Thomson. We sat around, had a few beers, and laughed. I'm sure that the people in the restaurant thought I was drunk, with how loudly I was laughing, but really it was just the sheer delight of having that many people around that I like. I couldn't help but get all giddy and giggly. And when Heidi busted out with the comment, "I don't dislike him because he's Republican, I dislike him because he's poor," well, I almost lost it. I was buckled over at the waist, gasping for air. (In Heidi's defense, she was trying to say something about people voting for their future desires versus their immediate interests, but it didn't come out quite like that.)
Really, nights like tonight are the kind you wish you could bottle up and just keep with you for those days that suck. At one point I looked around and thought, "These people are here for me, because I asked them to come out and hang for a few hours. And these are some seriously kick-ass people. How cool is that???" I admire each of my friends for attributes they have - honesty, intelligence, humor, sarcasm, wit, compassion, work ethic, enthusiasm, joy. They're all amazing people and I really feel lucky to know each of them.
And then I thought, "How lame is it that we do this when people leave? Why don't we do this more when people stay?" But I'm glad at least we did it now, and I got to share some laughs and time away from work with people that I hold dear. I'm tired now from the laughing. Maybe it burned off the beers and chicken fingers. Maybe.
No comments:
Post a Comment