Thinking about: Adult friends and spark(l)ing conversation

Speaking of friendships, I often find myself thinking about this New York Times article Alex Williams wrote about making friends as a grown-up. Having just moved to a new town, sometimes it really feels like I’m dating, couple dating. If only we could all just, like, hold hands. (Thankfully Alex and my husband liked each other when his wife and I became friends or it would be a blow to read.)

I’ve actually made quite a few adult friends through blogging. For all of the bad ways that the “blogosphere” feels like high school, that’s been one of the best.

Funny story: Abbey once wrote to me and suggested that we meet up for breakfast with our husbands. We knew each other through our blogs, but had never met in person and I wasn’t sure how much I should cop to knowing about her life. Do you ask: “where did you grow up?” or is it “I see that you grew up in X, what was that like?” A little nervous about this semi-blind date, Aron and I were laughing about how stalker-like I could sound when we decided to google “get-to-know-you questions.” Oprah has a list, but the first suggestion that popped up was to ask “what’s your favorite kind of cookie?” It’s been a running joke with us ever since: the image of meeting another couple and being all, serious-like, “chocolate chip? or chocolate chip oatmeal?” with Aron and I exchanging knowing glances at the answer: “ohhhhh…”

Of course the best conversations are more organic, but do you have a story you keep in your back-pocket for meeting new people? Is there a question you like to ask? I had a boyfriend who had a piece of trivia for every occasion—things like escalator-related accidents and such. You’d be amazed at how many people have stories about escalators!

[image of Stand By Me, Rob Reiner’s adaptation of “The Body,” by Stephen King, copyright Sony Pictures via]

Related posts:

Travel Guides

Browse By Category