I got friended in real life today. It was...nice? Awkward? Surprising. I went to get my oil changed, and Abraham and I waited in the kid's room. There was another mom and her four-year-old there, who generously let Abraham play with a bunch of cars, trucks, and trains that they brought from home. The mom and I struck up a conversation while our boys played together. I am, as you know, shy and awkward, and unlikely to initiate such a conversation. But luckily I am capable of making appropriate comments and questions come out of my mouth in reply. Then when their car was ready, she asked for my contact info so that we could hang out some time, maybe go to the zoo! I don't understand why! I mean, I'm not that cool. We didn't really have anything in common, other than being moms and liking the beach and owning cars. We didn't have any deep, meaningful conversation. It was just the basic getting-to-know you stuff. The chatting-with-a-stranger stuff. No social security numbers were given out.
Of course, I gave her my number and asked for hers and said that would be nice. And then when she left, I wondered if I was lying. I would never have asked for her number, nor would the idea have even crossed my mind that we should hang out if she hadn't brought it up. But maybe it would be nice. Maybe that's how you make friends. Maybe it's not so strange. She seemed normal enough. She's a real estate agent and teaches swim lessons at the Y. Her husband is an electrician. They're about to go on vacation to the beach. Maybe I need to be more open to actually connecting with people. Maybe I should have made that conversation more meaningful. I don't know why I feel I have to stick to the shallow topics with strangers.
Anyway, I have decided that, if for no other reason than an interesting social experiment, I will text her after she gets back from the beach and see if they want to go to the park or the zoo. We'll see!
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