When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun.  And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.

     ~Anonymous

   Saturday afternoon I went to my friend P's house.  She put on a luncheon for our friend A who is having her 2nd baby next month.  When I walked in P was talking to another woman I didn't know.  As soon as I said hi, P says to her friend, "K, this is Jenn, the one I was telling you about.  She's the fun one!".  At first I thought, "That's kind of cool.  I'm the fun one."  Then it hit me, that's a lot to live up to.  What exactly is the fun one to do?  Was I the afternoon entertainment?  Was I supposed to stand at a microphone with a martini and cigarette and toss off one liners?  Was I supposed to tap dance and do vaudeville?  Or maybe I was to distract the others so they wouldn't notice P trying to put out the fire that had erupted in the oven scorching the would be appetizers. 

   That question was answered 15 minutes later as we all gathered on the patio with our drinks.  We all sat at the patio table, and L said "So Jenn, what stories have you brought to regale us with today?"  Talk about pressure.  Now I never go to a social gathering with an arsenal of stories.  I just happen to have a lot of stories that somehow relate to what people are talking about.  And yes I admit, there are times when I absolutely cannot relate a story, but I do it anyway.  Usually, I just hang out, listen to everyone talk about their daily lives, then interject with a story that fits right in.  This demand for a story threw me for a loop though.

  So, my question is, does everyone in a group of friends have a title?  And, do we always have to live up to that title?  I mean, what if I wasn't feeling particularly fun at that moment?  Or didn't really feel like sharing an amusing story?  Ok, that last one is a bit far fetched, I always love sharing stories, but I don't go into a social gathering with an arsenal of stories to bark out on command.  I just usually have a story that relates to something we are discussing.  Like when we start talking about giving birth, I talk about how I had a midwife with my first daughter and what a great experience that was.  Then that usually leads to my second daughter's birth when I started asking for the epidural when I was about 4 months along.  Believe me, when you do natural birth, you remember that pain quite vividly. 

   Maybe I should just be happy that people enjoy listening to me talk, I mean I do love to talk.  And I do love to share stories and make people laugh.  But honestly, I would not go to the slut in the group and say, "So, tell me about the last guy you did."  I think what bothers me about the whole thing is that nobody else in this particular group really initiates conversation, so I always feel like I have to be "on".  Sometimes, I do just want to hang out and listen, but when I am introduced as the fun one, or the one with the stories, I'm just not quite as relaxed as I want to be in a social setting.  For now, I will just start stockpiling stories of my life, and whip them out when commanded, and insist that I must have a cocktail first.  I mean, nobody works for free do they?.   :lol: