I opened the door to the office and walked in. There was the robot, begging for mercy. There was only one person who could have done such a thing…

Last February I started a new job. It was a bit of a risky move — helping build a new group with a new approach inside an unstable organization and industry — but it was full of opportunity. Sadly, the reality has not lived up to the promise. Some might view it as a failed detour, but I don’t regret it for one reason: my teammate, my colleague, my office co-conspirator, my suddenly-friends-like-we’ve-always-been-friends friend.

You know this kind of friend when you meet her. Somehow she knows you better than you know yourself.

… She teases you about your idiosyncrasies and faults: “Ha. So what you’re saying is… you’re right again?”

… She gives you time to breathe and look at the wall to hide your tears when you’re upset.

… She doesn’t say anything when every morning you spend five minutes rolling cat hair off your pants.

… She asks you if you want to walk to the store to buy penny candy… and then she buys you ice cream.

… She tells you you’re amazing even when you feel like shit.

… She texts you randomly, even right after you walked out the door: “I just sneezed and peed myself-dammit.”

… She doesn’t let you make a fool of yourself.

… She listens to all your dumb stories and then makes a “dumb stories” board to record them.

… She looks you right in the eye when you’re thinking through something and you know she knows what you’re thinking.

… She cares enough to listen and learn about what you do… and now she explains what you do to others better than you can.

… She suggests you make origami cranes one day and then you both spend hours trying to actually make a damn crane.

… She leaves your robot sticking half out of your drawer so that you’ll laugh when you walk in the office door in the morning.

People in the world that care enough to make you smile are people worth making smile too. You never know what detour might lead you to them.