Day 236 - It Isn’t Personal
I got stood up tonight.
I have been playing message tag with a friend for some time now. We have tried to schedule something - getting together and catching up - but always seem to catch the other’s voicemail. Fortunately we were able to get something on the calendar, and I had been looking forward to it.
I got to the restaurant about five minutes early. I went inside and got us a booth about five minutes after the hour. Over the next ten minutes, I thought perhaps I had made a mistake; I got all worked up over the idea that maybe we were supposed to get together the night before, and I had stood him up. Finally, I listened to the last voicemail message where he was confirming Friday night. But he was now 30 minutes late, and that’s unusual for him. He’s a realtor, and is never late.
At 45 minutes past the time we were supposed to meet, I left the restaurant. The server had been very gracious, allowing me a minimum of embarrassment. The restaurant wasn’t busy, so I was only observed by a few seemingly empathetic customers.
I later got a message from him that he had worked late and didn’t have his phone with him. I told him I figured something like that had happened, and that we could get together another time. I wasn’t bitter or angry, and apart from the momentary embarrassment of sitting alone at the table for 40 minutes, I wasn’t bothered at all (though I was really hungry when I got home). I was surprised that I didn’t take it personally. I almost didn’t even care.
Odd how things change as you grow up....
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