Boys Will be Men

For some reason I've always had an easy time with guys. I don't mean eeeasy (get your mind out of there). I mean, comfortable, natural. Many girls and women have been precious friends and influencers and allies, and continue to be. I don't know what I'd do without my Mom and sisters' unique way of relating and knowing, or the varied and many facets of my friends' experiences and perspectives. There is nothing like the connection of a long-time girl friend who may be your opposite on some levels - Cyn, I will never, ever, walk through a Sephora again - but who can provide such sentimental memories as sneaking me a post-marathon beer and hugging my sweaty butt.

But you GUYS. You bring a sometimes foreign but completely welcome twist to friendship. And it doesn't have everything to do with your preoccupation with bodily functions, though that's part of it.

For example, my current co-workers. Til May, I work 20-25 hours each week at a running store with a bunch of fabulous running dudes. With me, they love talking sports, talking Man vs. Food, talking silliness (how many "fart-oops-it's-poop-pants-while-running" stories can you handle hearing?), and doing silliness (how many creative burps can you witness?). But they're also each smart, witty, and - they'll THROTTLE me - sensitive. Not sappy-sensitive. Just acutely aware and appreciative sensitive. They're all 20-or-30 something and love being boys, but they're also mature beyond their years about certain things. They unabashedly love their wives and protect that pact with everything they've got. They relish and protect their friendships. They know themselves well, and understand and abide by their personal boundaries better than I do mine. They easily empathize with the struggles of the folks who walk through the store doors. And they're COOL. Completely unpretentious, and uncensored.

I've loved my time with them, just being a girl (with a twist). They just let me BE. Because of them I've laughed hard the last few months, learned how not to fill out an NCAA bracket, and re-connected with a few important personal precepts I think I'd moved a little too far away from. I have no idea if I've added anything to their lives except a sure-fire way to cure hiccups, and how to win a pizza-eating contest. But I'll take my lessons from them with lots of gratitude, and the laughs with a few hiccups here and there.

The fabulous running dudes are just the latest of the many fabulous guys I've been lucky to know over the years (you know who you are). And all of you marvelous dudes have taught me things I might not've let the equally marvelous girls in my life teach me. Girls get "this", guys get "that". Between both, I'm covered. I'm not sure why. It's just happened that way.

So boys and men, thanks. And running store dudes, I'll miss being with your comfortable, gassy selves on such a regular basis.

Lesson learned.