One of the things that surprised me about Chris when I first met him was that he was funny, but not snarky. He was smart and witty, but not bitingly so.<\/p>\n
Then I met his friends from high school, when they were having a game night. These were some heavy-hitting smartsters, most of whom had advanced degrees and had gotten together since they were teenagers to play brainiac board games together.<\/p>\n
Intimidated much? Absolutely!<\/p>\n
They were nice. They were patient with me and explained how the games were played. They welcomed me and said they were glad to have me there.<\/p>\n
What the hell. Did they think I was so far below them that pity was the only response they could give?<\/p>\n
I was not used to this. I was used to constant pecking order, and power struggles between friends and enemies.<\/p>\n
The word frenemies hadn’t been invented yet, more’s the pity.<\/p>\n
These guys got together and played strategy games that involved devious backstabbing and shifting alliances. They played at it.<\/p>\n
On the board.<\/p>\n
In real life, they were good friends, and continued to enjoy one another’s company as the years went by.<\/p>\n
I got away from my teenage mean girl cliques. By the time I met Chris I was trying to make it in my corporate career.<\/p>\n
I thought I’d left the cliques behind. I did not know. The disenfranchised adolescents gave way to disenfranchised employees. And like the teens, my co-worker comrades dug in and made a lifestyle of mean.<\/p>\n
Mean people suck.<\/p>\n
Chris’s friends showed me a new way. I could easily extrapolate from the present adult relationships the teenage ones that had been.<\/p>\n
People can be nice.<\/p>\n
Even teenagers.<\/p>\n
Even my boss.<\/p>\n
Just because they hadn’t been doesn’t mean that all people of that type will follow suit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the things that surprised me about Chris when I first met him was that he was funny, but not snarky. He was smart and witty, but not bitingly so. Then I met his friends from high school, when … Continue reading