A Tale of Two Persons - Pot Luck for Lana
We had a pot luck at Carol's place tonight as a send off for Lana, who's taking a 1-year sabbatical to go to Phuket where her boy friend is teaching for the year. Everyone brought food or dessert, and I brought Swedish meatballs that sort of failed. (I used too much pork so it was too soft for my taste, but everyone else seemed to have loved it.)
Sitting there, chatting and mingling, I couldn't help but think of how I would have reacted if I was placed in the same setting just 2 years ago. Like many other social events, I would have been extremely uncomfortable. I would have stuck to Varya, whom I'm closest to, and I would have been restless from feeling like I had been trapped in a box where I am forced to make conversations.
Although I may never ever master the art of making conversations, I held my own tonight. I am still not the greatest or smoothest talker, but I did not appear timid and I did not fade out from any conversations. I spoke with everyone, and even felt at home moving around mingling. The most surprising thing was I didn't feel weird at all. I felt like myself, and myself was handling everything just fine!
When the evening was winding down, CA made a toast to Lana, and it was comforting to hear everyone teasing her shyness. In a lot of ways, I am similar to Lana. She's very nice, encouraging and soft-spoken. Also a hockey fan, albeit a Senators fan. ( She was very encouraging when my team was on the cup run, and insisted that the rest of Canada doesn't hate my team. )
If I am staying, I would say I will miss her calm presence, but since I'll be leaving as well, I will wish her a fun and fulfilling adventure as I will soon have mine.
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