--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... it struck me how comfortable I felt…" description: "\"“... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we were old friends or had already done this many times over, him handing me pages with his he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg" --- # ... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we… ![“... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we were old friends or had already done this many times over, him handing me pages with his heart on his sleeve - he couldn't pretend this work didn't mean everything to him - me reading his words, quietly amazed by what he could do.” quote by Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg) > ““... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we were old friends or had already done this many times over, him handing me pages with his heart on his sleeve - he couldn't pretend this work didn't mean everything to him - me reading his words, quietly amazed by what he could do.”” [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling an instant, deep connection with a collaborator can inspire awe and respect for their heartfelt work. **In simple terms:** Deep connection fuels admiration for sincere effort. Key Takeaway Cherish and nurture genuine creative bonds. Themes connection respect creativity Mood reflective appreciative Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - artistic partnerships - team projects - mentorship Key Concepts collaboration empathy Questions to Reflect On - What makes a creative partnership feel instantly familiar? - How can you sustain that respect over time? A Different Perspective Such intimacy may not be sustainable long term. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/) ## Related quotes > [I've written your name on the pages of my heart, reflected your face on the mirrors of my soul and displayed you in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-written-your-name-on-the-pages-of-my-heart-reflected-your-face-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your name is etched on the pages of my heart. Like an endless river your love continues to flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-name-is-etched-on-the-pages-of-my-heart-like-an-endless-river/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've written your name on the pages of my heart, reflected your face on the mirrors of my soul and displayed you in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-written-your-name-on-the-pages-of-my-heart-reflected-your-face/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-a-high-respect-for-your-nerves-they-are-my-old-friends-i-have/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“One has ideas, does experiments, meets people, seeks advice, calls old friends, runs into unexpected remarks, meets new people with new ideas, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-townes/one-has-ideas-does-experiments-meets-people-seeks-advice-calls-old/) [Charles H. Townes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-townes/) > [“Old friends sometimes need no words to understand each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-joyce/old-friends-sometimes-need-no-words-to-understand-each-other/) [William Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-joyce/) > [“To the return of old friends and to an unexpected but most welcome new one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-rossi/to-the-return-of-old-friends-and-to-an-unexpected-but-most-welcome/) [Veronica Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-rossi/) > [I love San Francisco so much. I call it the Emerald City and have been coming here since 1992. I have a few old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-cohen/i-love-san-francisco-so-much-i-call-it-the-emerald-city-and-have-been/) [Andy Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-cohen/) > [“The great thing about the Internet isn't that you can reconnect with old friends or stay up to date with developing world events or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-holley/the-great-thing-about-the-internet-isn-t-that-you-can-reconnect-with/) David C Holley > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/certain-flaws-are-necessary-for-the-whole-it-would-seem-strange-if/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-heart-and-my-heart-are-very-very-old-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) ## More by Paula McLain > [“There are some who said I should have fought harder or longer than I did for my marriage, but in the end fighting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/there-are-some-who-said-i-should-have-fought-harder-or-longer-than-i/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [I hope we'll get lucky enough to grow old together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/i-hope-we-ll-get-lucky-enough-to-grow-old-together/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“That's what terrible, sordid situations did to you, made you act crazily, against your own truths, against yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/that-s-what-terrible-sordid-situations-did-to-you-made-you-act/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“He didn't know how love managed to be a garden one moment and war the next.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/he-didn-t-know-how-love-managed-to-be-a-garden-one-moment-and-war-the/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [Books could be an incredible adventure. I stayed under my blanket and barely moved, and no one would have guessed how my mind raced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/books-could-be-an-incredible-adventure-i-stayed-under-my-blanket-and/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [People belong to each other only as long as they both believe. He stopped believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/people-belong-to-each-other-only-as-long-as-they-both-believe-he/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [I miss good old-fashioned honorable people just trying to make something of life. Simply, without hurting anyone else. I know that makes me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/i-miss-good-old-fashioned-honorable-people-just-trying-to-make/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [... and yet he could also be very charming, in a bookish, infinitely apologetic way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/and-yet-he-could-also-be-very-charming-in-a-bookish-infinitely/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“It was august. for years it was august … . there was heat like wet gauze and a high, white sky and music coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-was-august-for-years-it-was-august-there-was-heat-like-wet-gauze/) [Paula Mclain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“If you're ready to make the mad dash I'm game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/if-you-re-ready-to-make-the-mad-dash-i-m-game/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“We knew what we had and what it meant, and though so much had happened since for both of us, there was nothing like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/we-knew-what-we-had-and-what-it-meant-and-though-so-much-had-happened/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“There are things I didn't see before, like how nice it is to have someone around. Not the white knight whisking you away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/there-are-things-i-didn-t-see-before-like-how-nice-it-is-to-have/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“That's obviously, isn't it?' she said. 'A hawk is always a hawk, except'- and here she raised on heavy eyebrow and gave a mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/that-s-obviously-isn-t-it-she-said-a-hawk-is-always-a-hawk-except-and/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“I hope we’ll get lucky enough to grow old together. You see them on the street, those couples who’ve been married so long you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/i-hope-we-ll-get-lucky-enough-to-grow-old-together-you-see-them-on/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“It was terrible to feel so empty, as if I were nothing. Why couldn't I be happy? And just what was happines anyway?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-was-terrible-to-feel-so-empty-as-if-i-were-nothing-why-couldn-t-i/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) [Explore all 139 Paula McLain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) ## More Amazed quotes > [You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/you-will-never-cease-to-be-the-most-amazed-person-on-earth-at-what/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [You'd be amazed at pain and tears a single smile hides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-vasquez/you-d-be-amazed-at-pain-and-tears-a-single-smile-hides/) [Christian Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-vasquez/) > [“I am amazed at how being with him changes everything for me, socially speaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/i-am-amazed-at-how-being-with-him-changes-everything-for-me-socially/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [I'm endlessly amazed by what people are capable of, and incapable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/i-m-endlessly-amazed-by-what-people-are-capable-of-and-incapable-of/) [Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/) > [Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/souls-love-that-s-what-souls-do-egos-don-t-but-souls-do-become-a-soul/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Contrary to a common myth, while there are general guidelines, there is no exact 'right' way to run ... I am amazed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/contrary-to-a-common-myth-while-there-are-general-guidelines-there-is/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-tell-me-they-plan-everything-at-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-am-telling-you-is-that-you-do-not-need-to-know-to-love-and-it/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [My father was truly a great man. I remember one day putting my feet in my father's shoes. I was amazed at the size.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/my-father-was-truly-a-great-man-i-remember-one-day-putting-my-feet-in/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [J. Budziszewski is perhaps the clearest and most eloquent natural lawyer writing today. When reading his works I often find myself amazed by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-j-beckwith/j-budziszewski-is-perhaps-the-clearest-and-most-eloquent-natural/) [Francis J. Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) > [I've never ceased to be amazed at the survival skills of poor children. I've learned how much children can actually do for themselves if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-pearson/i-ve-never-ceased-to-be-amazed-at-the-survival-skills-of-poor/) Landon Pearson > [Mystical experiences (unlike scientific conclusions) cannot be communicated from one person to another. Philosophers and little children are continually amazed that we, unaccountably, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/mystical-experiences-unlike-scientific-conclusions-cannot-be/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host but the two or three people of whom I asked his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/as-soon-as-i-arrived-i-made-an-attempt-to-find-my-host-but-the-two-or/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I don't know why, but I'm continually amazed to think that two and a half billion of us around the world are connected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kovacs/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-continually-amazed-to-think-that-two-and-a/) [Gary Kovacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kovacs/) > [The key to contentment is to consider. Consider who you are and be satisfied with that. Consider what you have and be satisfied with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/the-key-to-contentment-is-to-consider-consider-who-you-are-and-be/) [Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/) Browse all 776 Amazed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we were old friends or had already done this many times over, him handing me pages with his heart on his sleeve - he couldn't pretend this work didn't mean everything to him - me reading his words, quietly amazed by what he could do.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula McLain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with-him-as-if-we-were-old/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amazed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with-him-as-if-we-were-old/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/paula-mclain-3064_old-friends_it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with_1068338.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... it struck me how comfortable I felt with him, as if we were old friends or had already done this many…” — Paula McLain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paula McLain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... it struck me how comfortable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with-him-as-if-we-were-old/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/it-struck-me-how-comfortable-i-felt-with-him-as-if-we-were-old/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```