AWKWARD

Every once in a while my Cerebral Palsy (C.P.) produces an AWKWARD moment where I'm not sure what to do. This past weekend I had an awkward moment at my church's Respite Night. It's funny now, but wasn't at the time. I think that's true for most experiences like that.

In the event you're new to my world let me set this up for you. Once every three months, we (Precious Stones ministry volunteers from Abundant Life Church in LS) hold a night of relief for the parents of our Special Needs kids & adults. We invite the kids & adults to the "party" where we feed them & have various activities for them.

I think my favorite part of it this past weekend was seeing the miniature ponies in tiny tennis shoes. I'm not even kidding, they said they ordered the shoes from Amazon. I thought that was GREAT! *grin*

So, you're thinking, "Shannon, tell us the awkward part." Don't worry, I'm getting there. *grin*

So I served as Volunteer Coordinator and welcomed the volunteers. I helped them know when & where to go before the participants showed up. I thought I had met everyone, but I was apparently wrong. *giggle*

About an hour into the actual event I went upstairs to grab a soda. I had seen other adults walking around with soda and it sounded good to me. So, I went upstairs and they had popcorn too, so I walked over to wash my hands first. One of the hospitality volunteers saw me, followed me, and asked me what I was doing.

Um, I was washing my hands.

She wanted to hand me the soap...um, no, I got it thanks.

She said, "Oh okay."

I wanted a pop.

I was standing by the pop.

She saw me eyeing the pop.

She wanted me to stick with water since I had my water bottle with me.

Then she said something to the effect of "I'll fill it for you."

Okay, she was trying to be kind. She wanted me to have water instead of pop. In that moment, I felt 5 years old. *AWKWARD*

You had to be there, but she clearly thought I was someone participating in the event, not a volunteer.

I stood there and "AWKWARD" popped into my head.

What should I do? I wondered, silently in my head.

I knew she would feel AWFUL making the mistake thinking I'm a participant not a volunteer, much less a leader in the ministry.

I couldn't crush her. She was clearly someone's Grandma. (She was older) *grin*

I know some people reading this will think, Why in the world would you care about her feelings? You were the one who felt "awkward."

The truth is that I hate hurting people. HATE IT.

So what did I do?

I filled the water bottle and walked away. No pop. No snack. Just water.

I'd rather be kind & feel awkward than make the other person feel bad. *grin* Yes, I'm kind to a fault.

You might be wondering if I ever got popcorn.

Yes, I made the rounds (I was helping with behaviors and checked in on everyone) and went back up and grabbed a bag of popcorn.

I never did get a pop though because she was clearly guarding the pop area and I couldn't re-live it again.

When I got home later, I had a pop and pondered the whole thing.

She was being kind. I was kind. In my pondering, I realized that I can be kind AND explain who I am without her feeling bad.

I told the leader of the ministry the next day and she said in the meeting prior to the event that she told them NOT to let participants have pop because several parents had requested kids have water only. I kind of figured that as I thought about it later. She was just doing what she had been told.

I'm not mad or angry. For real.

I think I'll just save it for the book I will write one day. I'll make sure to title the chapter AWKWARD. *giggle*

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
AWESOME, when you keep a healthy outlook on the situation. *grin*