“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”~ Bob Marley

I once worked with a lady who didn’t have a lot of friends. Actually, I and two other people were her only friends. The more I got to know her, the more I realized why she didn’t have too many friends. She’s what I’ll call a wet blanket. What do I mean? She complained about everything, I mean everything. She always looked for signs to talk about why people did not like her. She complained about her family, her job, how lonely her life was and so much more. She became my wet blanket when her constant gloomy mood started to affect me. I understand there are times in life you go through some rough patches, but her rough patches were constant. I started to feel really heavy and apprehensive being around her. Her constant complaints about everything started to get to me. As much as I could I tried to make her see the brighter side of life and be hopeful.

Before I continue, I will reiterate I understand life has its ups and downs. There are seasons in life when you will need someone to hold your hand and be there as a friend. As an individual I try to the best of my ability to be there when people close to me are going through tough times in their lives. My problem with this particular lady was her inability to see the bright side of any situation. She was always griping about one thing or the other. Being her friend began to feel like a heavy burden on my shoulders. I started to dread her text messages which were always to update me about one unhappy event or discussion. I won’t say I was a bad friend, I just felt like a wet blanket had been thrown over me and it weighed me down. We drifted apart when I changed work locations and I didn’t make the effort to try to salvage the friendship. I’m no longer friends with her. Am I glad? Yes, because being friends with her meant I could not give my best to others in my life because my friendship with her left me drained. After a few weeks of not constantly hearing her complain about her life, I steadily began to feel like my old self again.

Remember I stated this lady had two other friends? Well, one of her friends had the same views as she did. Always thinking everyone was out to get her, always constantly complaining about any and everything. Did I think they were both depressed? I wouldn’t say so. I think the saying “misery loves company” applied to both of them. This is not a post about depression because like I said, I didn’t think these ladies were depressed. I think they were both pessimists. Now, I know some people may judge me as being a bad friend for not continuing the friendship. That’s fair, I’ll take that. but I was glad when we parted ways. I could not let one person’s negative outlook about life influence me for the worse. I must confess, I tried to make her see the brighter side of life. When she would complain about not being in a relationship, or about how a family member was trying to swindle her of all her money, I would give her advice on how best to handle these and various other situations. She did take my advice and always came back to thank me but then went on to complain about how another problem had come up.

A pessimist will always see the glass as half empty. It doesn’t matter how much you try to convince the person. If you do have a friend that is a wet blanket, do try to convince the person to see the glass as half full not half empty. If a relationship drains you and makes you feel like a wet blanket has been placed over you, please re-evaluate that relationship because you have others who need you to continue to be the good ole’ optimist that you are.