I don’t generally like being around people, because I can be quite the introvert. But in thinking about people whose company I do truly enjoy, they have these things in common:
- Easy to talk to because they actively listen. They comment and ask questions and engage in the conversation.
- I feel at ease around them. If there is a pause in the conversation, it doesn’t feel awkward. My husband is especially fond of long pauses in conversation. He is not a fan of a lot of talking, which I try very hard to respect. But even if we’re not talking, I enjoy just being in his presence.
- We laugh together. Certainly not a requirement, but a fun trait to have. My sisters are the best at laughing together. When the three of us are together, it is the kind of laughter that has occasionally made me wet myself. Seriously. I laugh so hard that I end up not being able to breathe, then I start coughing, and it just snowballs from there.
- We can joke around. Goes hand in hand with laughing. My husband’s sense of humor is tailored to me and mine to him. It’s what happens when you’re together for almost 25 years.
- They don’t judge what you say or do. Or at least they don’t appear to. Additionally, they don’t always offer advice. Sometimes I don’t want or need advice. I just want to tell you that my day was bad and that’s it.
- I have something in common with them that we can either do together or talk about together. My former administrative assistant (now friend) and I are big fans of the show “Friends” and while we don’t ever sit and watch the show together, we incorporate the show into our text conversations. Whether it’s sending a meme or just making a joke about something and connecting it to the show.
- They are patient with me. Even if we don’t have something in common, they listen patiently as I share something related to an interest of mine. I could talk for hours about knitting, just sayin’.
I’m sure there are other things I could add to the list that I can see in the people I like to be around. But for now, these are the ones that come immediately to mind. It really boils down to a feeling of comfort. The people I like to be around are people that make me feel comfortable. Comfortable enough to be myself. I can immediately think of the people in my life that this applies to and all of those people are very different from one another. And yet, I truly enjoy my time with them.
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