Brilliant Brew

The drizzle did not dampen the spirits of our rowdy cub scouts; we participated in the Downtown Christmas parade as intended. Afterwards, we stopped at the local coffee house for a treat. Mine was a rose/white tea, which was spectacular.

An interesting thing happened to me today. A colleague has been working on solving a particular logistical problem concerning class enrollment in our department for the last two weeks. She solved a part of the puzzle, but the solution delivery was botched up by the office of registrar. As it was not the only thing that did not go her way recently, she got very upset (not with me; with the guilty party), and I got to witness it.

A few hours later, she apologized for what was, in her view, an excessive overreaction. She took me by surprise. Firstly, I wasn’t at all offended or upset by her reaction. Are we that hung up on being in control at all times that we need to apologize for being human? Secondly, I was taken by the fact that she apologized. Regardless of what I thought (or didn’t think) of her rant, she worried her words have upset or offended me, and took steps to make amends. It doesn’t happen to me often.

And while I am on the subject, another point on apologies, unrelated to today's events. Some folks say “I am sorry you are upset” instead of the more appropriate “I am sorry I have upset you”. I wish more people admitted their screw-ups, and did it the right way.

Let’s all not take stupid stuff personally; let’s apologize, promptly and appropriately, for what we should.

No idea why I got so philosophical. Must be the tea.