They’re not just for breakfast anymore . . .

Extreme stress at work – it would really help if I could get to my office at LEAST one day a week to work on the stuff I am actually paid to do. Still no receptionist so I am stuck. I don’t really mind it on most days.

Last week was a bit different and by Thursday I was fraying at the edges. There was a confrontation with a co-worker that should never have happened. It escalated much too quickly – and I am not going to point fingers – let’s just say it should never have gotten to that point.

Her supervisor called me the next morning. It would have been better if she (the coworker) and I could have talked it over and gotten things settled. I would have preferred that and told her supervisor that.

Yesterday I received a letter from the co-worker showing me just how much she was upset by the whole thing. I admit my dander was raised by reading it and all I wanted to do was strike back. There was not much fairness in her take on the situation. The blame was fully laid at my feet. My fingers itched to type a 10 page expose on just how I felt about HER working relations with everyone up to and included George W.

So I did the prudent thing.

I went to the restroom and cried privately.

Then I typed an apology and cc’d it to her manager (as she had cc’d her letter to me) and placed them in the manager’s mail slot – where they will be picked up this morning.

Sunday evening I shared some of my hurt with a trusted friend at evening services. I didn’t tell her the whole story – well, I hadn’t gotten the letter yet, so couldn’t tell her the WHOLE story – but she just smiled her sweet smile and said . . .

Life is a lot like pancakes – no matter how thin you make them – there are always two sides.

Pretty sage words and I took them straight to heart. Maybe that is what helped me not answer the way I really wanted to answer. She had promised to pray for me, so I KNOW that helped me not answer the way I really wanted to answer.

Not sure of what – if any – repercussions there will be. There is little I can do at this point. Little except smile at this coworker the next time she comes to our building and pretend it never happened – go on from there –

Late yesterday afternoon (after all the angst and such had passed by) I finished reading the daily papers (part of the receptionist’s job, believe it or not) and came across Lynne Curry’s column. I copied it and put one in the co-worker’s manager’s mail slot. Yesterday I felt like “There! I’m just like that guy – did you ever consider that there might be stuff going on in my personal life that is causing this?”

Today as I type this I am thinking to myself “There! She’s just like that guy – Moosie, did you ever consider that there might be stuff going on in her personal life that is causing this?”

pancakes.