Kate

Very short piece for a 15 minute writers' group exercise about my friend Kate. Believe it or not, it came from the task to write about one of a series of random words: the word I picked was "rucksack"...

Kate seems perpetually happy. She is a bit like a puppy. She is a bit like an excited, yappy, puppy. She is a bit like a hyperactive kid.

I sit opposite her every day wondering how she can be like this. Does she have an “off” button? I have known her for over 2 and a half years and I’ve seen her a bit pensive, a bit moody, a little bit disappointed or down-hearted at one time or another. But only for fleeting periods of time. Only for moments or the odd stressful work period. She just always seems delighted to be alive – always thinking about the next fun thing to do; the next fun person to join her ever-increasing social circle.

It tires me out to watch her. Her energy is unlimited – but not infectious…

Her love of life is on her terms, though not in a selfish respect. But people are there for her entertainment, for her pleasure, to listen to her, to agree with her (or to give her a good, proper argument), to be the butt of her jokes, to lose arguments to her.

I am amazed and confused a little by her energy and positivity. She gets so much happiness and pleasure from some things. Like the rucksack. You’d think she’d won the lottery when she got that thing. I could picture her putting it on and taking it off again and again and parading around her flat. She was proud to confirm that that was exactly what she had done.

She does exhaust me. Her bounciness stresses me out: my failing, certainly not hers. I do wonder what her secret is, if there is one – and I do wonder what it feels like to feel like her.