I'm posting this today because yesterday, as Dolly said in Steel Magnolias, I was "busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest." Ha ha! Things are picking up at the firm, which is great! I love to be busy.
I've been at my firm for nearly seven years. I love LOVE it here. We have great employees, employers and clients. In fact, I have met some really fascinating people while working here. Despite being here for nearly seven years and knowing the lay of the land very well, I still get butterflies before client meetings, especially with certain clients. One such client came in yesterday morning to meet with us. Like many of our clients, she is very well educated and VERY well to do. She is always dressed to the nines and decorated with diamond encrusted rings, bracelets and the like. Hannah would love to see some of the giant sparklies this woman wears. The minute I walk in the room, dare I admit it, I am instantly intimidated. Why? I know at all times what is going on and am always very well prepared. Yet, I find myself distracted. Yes, the bling. There certainly is a lot of bling and Louis Vuitton! Somehow I have convinced myself that this woman is a better person than me.
I'm really not sure why I feel this way. Okay, maybe it is the school she attended, the clothes she wears or the great work she does for the community. Whatever it is, I find myself looking at my Ann Taylor gear and neat, but not polished, hands, feeling less human than I did just ten minutes before she came in. I was just berating myself for not curling my hair that morning when I saw it. Across the table, slightly hidden behind her jacket, I saw a shiny metal safety pin. Yep! It sparkled more than the five hundred carat ring she was wearing. It was almost like it was calling out to me. :) I know pins don't speak, but that pin said a lot to me yesterday.
That $.49 pin announced to me yesterday that its owner was just like me, human. She may sport the latest trends, have money to travel the world, but like me, she isn't perfect. Her shirt was gaping that morning and out of modesty, or perhaps self-consciousness, she pinned her shirt with a safety pin. I know it sounds terrible, but FINALLY she had something out of place. It was calming and I KNOW I smiled.
My husband tried desperately several years ago to calm my jitters before each speech I gave in class. "Remember," he said "everyone puts their pants on just like you do, one leg at a time." It never worked really. I still threw up in the parking lot or cried in the bathroom before each speech. Yesterday, the point was reiterated.
Today, I put my pants on, one leg at a time. Then, I fastened the top with a GIANT safety pin (that dreaded pregnancy in between stage). I bet someone else did the same thing this morning.
8 comments:
Great post! I can completely relate to how you feel. I could have written the same post. It is nice to see people a little more "human" from time to time!
this is such a great reminder! great post, thanks.
Well said, Jess. I have a bad feeling I'm going to be SO intimidated by my parents this year (what with the $10,000 tuition they can afford to pay for this school...).
Wonderful insights here, reminds me of the wisdom of the early Aborigines of Australia, who insisted that any visitor traveling with them throughout the Bush had to remove all ornaments and clothing, and walk naked like themselves. Then, they were one.
I can relate! That's actually how I feel during a daycare interview. lol I hope you made it through ok!
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! What a GREAT post! How is it there are certain people who just intimidate you without rhyme or reason? I know this is shallow, but I like to see that those that are so Perfect...sometimes really AREN'T! =)
Love it! LOVE it! What a great reminder to all of us.
I love your blog. I found you through Rach's. I like this post. I was feeling intimadated on Friday after I went to school and saw some of the teacher's classrooms (leather couches, lamps, etc). I began to feel like a "bad" teacher because I do not have those things in my room. What a nice reminder this post was. We all put our pants on one leg at a time, or try to squeeze into them because I've gained so much weight!!!
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