Like Me

I'm a likable person. So it's odd when someone doesn't like me. I actually work hard (these are called people pleasers) to get people who don't like me, to like me. And sometimes I'm wrong, you know. I get a "vibe" that someone doesn't like me, but maybe I got the vibe wrong and they actually do like me.

There are two people like that in my ward. One, is a friend of my mother's and my sister's, so it was weird when the vibe I got from her was rather cool. Over the last seven years of living here, I think I got her all wrong and perhaps she does like me. (Although they recently had a son get married and we never got an invite, but I'm functioning on the assumption that it was an accidental oversight.)

The other woman has constantly been in a position of authority in my ward and I think the reason she doesn't like me is that I have so many little kids. She's an ambitious career woman and I think her perception of me, is that I'm not. Unlike the first woman, I've never gotten a cold shoulder, but her friendliness has often seemed a bit forced. Like she's acting like she likes me, when deep down she doesn't.

This is the person that I had to pitch my class to for a midweek activity. Imagine my trepidation. But buoyed with the news that the local university wanted my class for their community education series, I called. She loved the idea! I will be teaching part of my class to my ward, in August, in conjunction with a cupcake exchange.

I could just hug her! And you. Thank you for all of the encouragement telling me, reminding me, that I can do this.

Update 6/29/09: Wendell has been bringing in the mail and never noticed the invite to the reception. We got one! I was too embarrassed to ask someone where the reception was, since I thought we weren't invited, even accidentally. But I got it, albeit four days late. We were, in fact, invited.

The lesson is all of this is don't make judgements. Even if you think someone doesn't like you, odds are you're wrong.