12 April 2010

Help Me, Please Help Me.


Dear Friends,

I am not a liar. For those of you who have known me forever, you know that this is true. I also don't curse. If you've known me forever you know that this one is true too. For those of you who don't know me very well or are a visiting Monkee (I love you Monkees), it's important for you to know that I am one of the most brutally honest people you will ever meet and if I think something, a lot of the time it tends to come tumbling out of my mouth. This is both a blessing and a curse. It can be refreshing to have someone tell you something that smacks you in the face but is something you need to hear. At least, that's what I tell myself when I say something stupid that I know I'm going to regret later.

I told myself that I wouldn't exclude any parts of my life from this blog, that I would be open and honest and that I would let my friends know what is going on in my life and that I would pray for responses and comments that will help me through the tough times, make me laugh at myself, and help me chronicle the way I'm learning to be a mother and a parent to Lexy. So. Deep breath. That's what this blog is about, right? Learning to breathe. This one is going to hurt.

I have someone in my life I'm supposed to love that I just can't bring myself to. I don't know how.

Growing up we all learn that we should love our families, our friends, our neighbors, as we love ourselves. I try and practice this. Really, I do. I know that there are some people that just don't click, but as I grow older I have come to the conclusion that if you give people time and listen and watch that there is usually some common ground. There is something that can bond you, tie you to another person. You don't have to love everyone but you should at least respect them.

I have one person that just makes me insane. I can't look at anything that she says or does without looking for an ulterior motive or underlying criticism. I know this is wrong. I know I should take everything at face value. And then I get around her, or get an email from her and I just feel like I've taken a punch in the gut. I feel like I'm 7 years old and the boy that picks on me at school just told everyone that I pick my nose. Now, that was hard for me to write, because I don't do noses. Noses gross me out like nothing in the world. I can do vomit, blood, diapers, accidents. Anything else. But I can't do noses, so when I say that this reminds me of that critical moment in elementary school that turned me inside myself and made me small then you know it's a serious thing. It's not without justification. I have watched and learned that this person is a master manipulator. She's done it with me, my family, my parents, and I've watched her do it with other members of her family. And no one says anything or does anything about it. It seems like it's an accepted aspect of her being and everyone has agreed that it's okay. I'm not sure how I can remember to breathe when I'm around her.

This was all brought on by an email that I got a few days ago. To which part of my response actually included a section something along the lines of "if you want something just say what you want". Don't beat around the bush. I have a few pet peeves and one of them is being passive-aggressive. I guess this comes along with always speaking my mind, so it bothers me when people can't just be honest. But, to attempt to be manipulative about it really irks me. I haven't received a response yet, so I'm wondering if my response to her didn't read as it was written. Email is a wonderful way to have miscommunication with someone. I did say it really nicely, I did. I can be very tactful with my brutal honesty. I know it was written nicely because I had to rewrite it about 3 times before it came across gently as opposed to smack. I promise, it was tactful. Really.

I apologize for this rant. What I think I'm really getting at is asking for my friends and my "readers" to offer me strength when it comes to this person. If you have someone in your life that does this to you, I would love to know how you deal with it. Please help me learn to grow and be accepting and try and learn to love this person. Please comment. I need your comments today. Please sign up to be a reader. I love seeing that number go up and it gives me strength and pride. I know it's selfish and I know that it's completely needy. But, I can use the love and the responses. Its nice to have a conversation with someone that doesn't revolve around Elmo, ladybugs, or Twinkle Twinkle.

Love to you all,

C-

p.s. I really am nervous about this one. I don't think it's completely masked who this person is to me and I don't want to be hurtful or rude. I must remember to breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Everything is better when you breathe.

6 comments:

  1. Oh do I have a story for you. We'll talk about this tomorrow at lunch. To long to write about here.

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  2. One thing I've leard is that people like this often get away with this behavior because other members of the family have learned to just cope with it. It's easier to ignore episodes of bad behavior than it is to deal with the emotional grief that will rain down on family members if said person is confronted. This person you are talking about obviously has zero sense of self-awareness. I just don't understand people who are obsessed with getting their own way all of the time and are always trying to control others. If you ever figure out how to deal with this person, LET ME KNOW. I know someone just like her. ;)

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  3. I have someone in my life who is desperate for positive reinforcement in order to feel a sense of self-worth...she emulates others, seeking camaraderie by taking on a persona and creating instances of commonality, etc. I have been friendly with this person for a few years even though it has brought more stress to my life than I have ever had. I always told myself that she just didn't have any self confidence or any close friends, so I think I excaused her behavior because of this.

    Luckly for me, she is not related. I have decided that I can't be "friends" with this person anymore or the negative energy she has brought to my life for the past 4 years as it was starting to be hard to "not be a jerk". I have made a conscience decision to not speak with her anymore...I even deleted her from my FB "friends". I'm hoping this brings some peace back to my life...we will see.

    Kathie



    Kathie

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  4. Thanks, everyone! I think I just need to continue "turning the other cheek" and working on myself and my patience. I'm not being the person I know I can be and I think that frustrates me even more than the person themselves. Okay, maybe not, but I am trying to work on myself and the whole patience thing. I think it will help me be a better mother and a better person. It's an ongoing battle.

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  5. I have recently been dealing with a friend who acts this same way and so it's amazing to read this right now to remind my own self on how i should act. with my friend, many of our mutual friends say 'oh, she's like that and don't take it personally, just blow it off,' etc. and then talk about her behind her back, I really don't want to. I know how you feel, wanting to be the person you are and not blowing a fuse, you feel that intervening somehow will help you, your friends/family, and her.

    i think you did the right thing and say what you felt. try not to read into what she is thinking now-it could be that she is embarrassed and knows you're right and doesn't know how to deal with it. most likely she probably won't respond the way you hope since it's easier not to, but maybe the more you are YOU- upfront, yet rational, calm, the more this facade can be chiseled away. hopefully! :) good luck
    trish

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  6. I have a family member jsut like this and how I do I deal with it .... I call her on it. She may be mad at me for awhile - but she gets over it. I am like you - I am way too honest and heaven help you if you make me mad - cause I will not hold back. Although my husband does help keep me grounded cause if he didn't, I would actuaclly curse etc., but since meeting him I don't do that anymore and I have found that I can get my point across without cursing. I also flat out refuse to put myself on that persons level and when I do call them on it - I use perfect examples of what they have done in the past. My family knows who the drama queen is and we do not and will not let her have her way, but it took tough love to get there. I also pray for her daily.

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