It wasn't anything I would have called monumental, just the acting on an impulse.
Today's New Activity: Instant "Yes"
I don't usually respond immediately to an invitation, especially if it comes in written or evite form. I don't know why this is. There are times when I know about the party before the invitation even arrives, and still I will sit on it for a week before responding.
It's not that I'm waiting for a better offer to come along. Really it's not.
I imagine I'm not alone is this aspect of my personality. I don't know what it is that can kind of keep us from committing right away. Sometimes it's simple logistics. Like, if you're married or in a relationship, it's common to check in with the other half before R.S.V.P-ing. That's understandable. Also, you may simply not yet know if you are free during the time slot or will otherwise be able to commit to attending, for whatever reason.
For me, however, I just can't make that leap right away.
I had this friend when I was in college who was the master of the hangout commitment. If you said something flakey and non-committal like, "we should hang out some time," he would answer with, "Yes, I'm free Tuesday. How does that work for you?" If you said, "I'm not sure...I may have to work an extra shift on Tuesday, but I can let you know," he would respond with "Ok, how about noon on Friday?" Gah! Cornered! There was just no weaseling out of it. And the thing is, when I'm talking about friends, I really have no true desire to weasel out of hanging out. It's just that being asked to commit right there on the spot is a bit daunting!
What is that buffer about? What happens in the space and time between the birth of a hangout inkling and the solidified plans that causes us to feel more at ease?
I don't know, but I didn't care about it this morning.
I opened my email to an evite from a woman I know pretty much as an acquaintance at this point, though that will change later this month and before her birthday party, as we have planned a new activity play date during the interim. I opened the evite, saw I had no previous plans for the evening, and immediately responded with a "yes," though I was pretty sure I would not know a single soul in attendance aside from the birthday girl, and posssssibly my friend Kelsi, if she can break away from the newborn Max :)
Checking in on the evite just now (which was funny, given that I don't know the people), I saw there were already 36 attendees! That's a bumpin' room, full of strangers. Though I can be pretty shy at such gatherings, I've decided it will be a wonderful opportunity to meet some people totally outside my own circle and break ice like I haven't had to for a very long time, if ever.
And any birthday girl who can get 36 yeses on the first day an evite is sent out has got to be pretty good people, so now I'm really looking forward to turning this acquaintance into a bona fide friend :)
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