Stomping loudly and yelling

Dragon Mood? -- enshrouded in my safe, stomp-resistant bubble

A certain partner, who shall remain nameless, overslept this morning. At ten after eight, she jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, ran to the kitchen and then ran back to the bedroom, all the while stomping loudly and repeatedly yelling, "Fuck!" as she went. (*smiling*--I couldn't help but think of the movie, "Four Weddings and a Funeral," that starts out similarly.) She had an eight o'clock meeting, which she obviously was not going to make, except that the meeting was happening at her desk, her cubicle, at her computer. Oouuuuch! Embarrassingly late.

Being the smart partner that I am, I stayed out of her way, poured coffee into her travel mug, and handed it to her carefully as she stomped her way out the front door.

Whew, bad energy! I sat down in the green plastic Adirondack chair, sipped at my coffee and played let's-tug-on-the-chew-toy with the dog.

Later, at work, my cell phone rang. I opened the clam shell and it was her. The partner who shall remain nameless. She announced, giggly and lightheartedly, that she was still alive and still had a job. But, her boss is not talking to her. Not yet, at least.

And while, it was never put out there, openly, I think the question was, "Are you talking to me? Are you still there, like the job?" Which I am, in answer to both questions.

I encouraged her to apologize to her boss. She favored silence. Silence, she explained, was the best response -- based on her assumptions about his response to her lateness. I encouraged her not to assume. Approach him, explain, validate his feelings and apologize.

Knowing her, she won't apologize. Silence trumps all rationales. (Remember, her grandmother never once apologized to her grandpa, not in sixty-plus years of unhappy wedded bliss. How many times have I heard that cautionary tale?) What do you wanna bet?

[post-posting comment: While some may see this as an unflattering portrait of the partner who shall remain nameless, I actually wrote it as a reminder to myself that things are changing. She is changing. Several years ago, I would not have received even a phone call. Like her boss, I too would have been met with silence about this morning's outburst. I'll take the call as a glass-half-full experience and give her credit for caring enough to call.]