Rules If You Wanna Be My Friend

Ok, so I am always on the lookout for new friends. I have, historically, been a pretty shitty friend. I was not great at making time for other people, which is pretty unacceptable. I have turned over a new leaf in the last few years, but it seems that a lot of other people still fall into the crappy friend for Katie category.
Since I have been working on positivity and my self esteem lately, I figured that I need to find some friends who make me feel good about myself. I would love to be able to do that same thing for other people. In order to do that I have decided that I need to have some rules for who I spend my time with. I am not talking about acquaintances. I am talking about my actual friends. People who I might call up at any time just to chat or hang out. So here's the rules...

1. You can't be intolerant of my views, which are likely to be different thank yours. Of course, I will give you the same courtesy. I won't freak that you eat meat or go to church or watch lots of reality tv if you don't freak that I don't. My one exception to the intolerance rule: if you don't like people based on sexuality, religion or politics then I can assure you that we will not get along.

2. You must be nice to my child. That is actually the number one most important rule, so I am not sure why I didn't put it first. I promise that I will not let him destroy your house, hurt your animals or generally disrespect you. However, it is important to keep in mind that he is two and he may do those things once so it is my job to keep them from happening again. He is still learning, you know. Despite being two, he is an awesome kid and deserves to be treated with respect.

3. Don't tell me you want to be friends and then avoid making plans, or change plans every time we try to get together. I know things come up...we have our own separate lives. However, when it becomes the rule and not the exception, I get the feeling you don't actually want to be friends so I'm gonna move on.

4. Be kind. I can't be around people who are not kind to others. This includes being kind to servers, retail store clerks, other people in general, animals, the elderly and children.

5. Don't be offended if I can't do a lot of activities that cost money. We don't have any, so we have to be creative. Happy hour for drinks, matinees for movies, carpooling...that kind of thing. I don't expect or want you to pay for me, but there are times when I just might not be able to go.

6. Don't drive a huge lifted truck or a hummer. At least in AZ, everyone who drives something of this nature is a d-bag and I automatically have a sour taste in my mouth. (I know...this is pretty intolerant, but I have been cut off by these drivers one to many times)

7. Don't ask me to give you more than I can give. I want to be a great friend, which to me means lending an ear, helping out when needed, being supportive, understanding and honest. But please, don't take advantage and please reciprocate to the best of your ability.

8. It would help, but is not required, for you to like one or more of the following...Goofy husbands, movies, books, crafting, learning new things, the outdoors, gardening, garage saling, animals or animal rights, piano bars, fire pits, concerts, desserts or cooking.

That is pretty much it. Is it too much to ask??? It is hard to find people who genuinely want to be friends.

Happy Thursday!