Faithful reader I recall finding my old report card from JK that basically said I was bossy and not good at sharing. I vividly remember the incident that might have directly contributed to this remark. Luciano wanted the little plastic kettle I was using to make pretend tea in our block house -- and I wasn't done. He was going to have to pry that thing from my cold, dead hands cuz I was not about to surrender it. And I let him no that too. Naturally at age 4 I was not so eloquent, but I imagine I said "NO!" (probably a few times)
Which brings me to today's topic...sharing. Perhaps, I'm over compensating these days because I have a difficult time saying "no" nowadays.
Case in point: Co-worker blows in, inappropriately dressed for the weather and needs to hike across campus to a meeting and wants a longer coat. It was April -- yes I was still wearing my winter coat. It wasn't that much longer, but enough to cover the skirt she was wearing and she asked to borrow my coat.
My first thought was of the potential smell as the furry hood liner was wet from rain and I was especially concerned about the foundation caked onto the collar!
But she was strictly concerned about warmth. I was in a quandary! There didn't seem to be any wiggle room to allow a no answer in her question -- she was determined not to wear her jacket and had already sized up my coat and had it in her hands. So...I said yes.
Done is done -- I got my coat back promptly after her meeting no worse for wear and she thanked me profusely. Would I have done the same had our situations been reversed? First of all, we would have had to be in a parallel universe for the situations to be reversed. I'm always overdressed for the weather! I don't surrender my scarf until mid-May and given the recent weather patterns, I'm probably going to be wearing something around my neck until early June!!!! But let's say I was unprepared -- I'd probably suffer in silence and berate myself for not being better prepared. I wouldn't dream of asking to borrow someone's coat!
Is it just me? I had a manager ask to borrow foundation one day. Props to her for being colorblind -- restoring my faith in inter race relations -- but she's white, I'm not, it was awkward! Then there's office mate who's gone so far as to ask to borrow -- gah!-- deodorant! Yes I have some in my desk...FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE!!!! And I had to shell out $3 for the travel sized stick. I'm not letting another person drag that under their armpits all over their odoriferous sweat glands! Naturally paranoia kicked in -- I don't often lock my desk and she knows I have toiletries in it. Did she already use it and now she's just being formal and asking? As soon as she left the office I took a paperclip to the stick and carefully shaved off the top layer. Hey you never know!
Sharing is good. Sharing good experiences, sharing information, sharing deals...
Sharing clothing or deodorant with personal boundary-less co-workers -- Bad!
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