Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Thoughts on your thoughts on my thoughts on the cave. Thoughts.

Get that?

I just wanted a quick word on the whole "friends by appointment" thing. Apparently, most people DON'T like it. Most people LIKE the whole "spontaneously dropping by unannounced" gig. It is friendly. It is open. It is warm fuzzies and girl talk and feeling like people like you.

Everyone likes friends. Everyone. I could quote that whole "no man is an island" thing, but - well, actually I can't quote it.

So whaddya say we be Brazilian this week? Do you think you can make a friendly visit "just because"? Tell them I made you if you need some sort of excuse. I'm very interested to see how this experiment will go. I will take part in it, as well. (Though I concede it is exponentially easier for me.) And let it be said that even if this experiment passes with flying colors, don't do this every day. It gets annoying.

Most importantly, SMILE. Brazilians are always, always smiling. Their lives could be topsy turvy - their refrigerators might be empty - their mothers may be dying - but they are still smiling.


(This is my friend Geny, and I love her smile.)

11 comments:

Christa Jeanne said...

The unannounced visits do sound warm and friendly, but in all honesty, that'd drive me nuts! I guess you're right about us Americans being task-oriented. I'm always so busy trying to get the things done on my list that I schedule my friend time (sometimes a few weeks in advance). Maybe I need to be a little more Brazilian...

Heather of the EO said...

You know what? I'm working on a post that mentions the isolation of motherhood here. I think people from the states think it sounds lovely and warm and fuzzy because many of us are lonely. But if push came to shove (or knock to ring) we'd tire of CONSTANT visits too. Everything in moderation, right? :)

Lisha said...

Does this include taking my three boys along too, unannounced, with three boys, how do you think the visitee will take it??? I just don't know if I could inflict that on anyone, let alone myself.

"Hands off the tv, watch that vase, don't jump on the lounge" comes to mind.

Boy Mom said...

My Visiting Teachers are under strict instructions to just drop-in, that's the only way for me.

Rachel Sue said...

That is where I really struggle. My in-laws are a lot like that,a but it just doesn't come natural to me. Visits must be planned and scheduled into my day. . . Well, we'll see how it goes!

Amber said...

Depends on if I think you'll judge the state of my house if it's messy when you drop in whether or not you're a welcome guest. ;) It's something I'm slowly adjusting to in my new neighborhood- people 'drop by' all the time.

The Motherboard said...

Done.

Can I have a gold star please?

Anonymous said...

This post is so about me and my husband. We are known for just popping in on relatives, even though we haven't seen them for a looonng time.

Nikki said...

If it were relatives, I could do it. But like Lisha said, I'd be dropping in on someone with at least three kids with me. I'm not sure I can do that. When my husband gets home from Alabama, I might be able to work up the guts to drop in on someone unannounced by myself. Does that count? lol

Nikki said...

P.S. Geny has a great smile. I think I'll adopt the smiling through all topsy-turviness thing. At least this week. ;)

charrette said...

That sounds impossible for me to just show up at someone's house unexpected, unannounced, for no reason at all other than to visit...although I LOVE the idea of t! And I love it when people drop in on me unannounced. (It means I don't have to stress out or clean!)

But one thing I CAN do is smile!

Your friend is lovely.