Disappointment, Guaranteed

Today’s lesson is: How to deal with disappointment.

Actually, that’s a leap of faith. Auntie is trying to figure this out and I thought, well, “those who can’t do, teach” so I opened this file and started typing with the presumption that something would come out and lo and behold, it has.

That doesn’t make it any good, though. Sorry. There are no guarantees in life.

Ooh, waitaminnit!

There are no guarantees in life. That’s pretty good. I can work with that. No guarantees in life, not even the ability to make lemonade when the cliché calls for it.

That doesn’t make it any less disappointing, though.

Well, if someone asked me this on Quora, I’d tell them to distract themselves, preferably by being useful. It’s my go-to for just about anything, mostly because doing something useful for yourself or someone else gives a sense of accomplishment which can offset most bad feelings.

But what to do when the disappointment comes from a failure to be useful to someone? That’s Auntie’s problem right now. Tried & failed. Now what?

Ergo and therefore my return to the blog format to vent. Q.E.D.

I forgot how comfortable this is. I really missed you guys. Auntie has always been the type to work things though out loud. Having even a possibly hypothetical audience is making it happen.

And writing all this filled the time while the washer finished its thing. Now I can move the stuff to the dryer, which is useful and ought to make me feel better.

Apology

So just this very morning, I was asked this on Quora.com:

"What are the general requirements for a good, authentic apology?"

To which Auntie replied:

Demonstrate that you understand why it was the wrong thing to do.

Acknowledge the full extent of the consequences for which your action was the catalyst -- even if you had no intention of causing those consequences. They wouldn't have happened if you hadn't done what you did, so they're also your fault.

Express remorse. Details why you regret your actions will be more welcome than rationalization or excuses.

At this point it is traditional to announce your plans to rectify the problem and prevent it from happening again. This will be as credible as your personal history warrants.


To wit:

1. My beautiful darlings, I'm very sorry I have neglected you for the last six months.

2. Some of you will have moved on. Most of you probably will never even see this. The rest of you may not care.

3. Your Auntie does love you, but I'm lazy and vain and I get lots of responses on Quora without having to think up a subject or something about which to drivel.

4. Since joining Quora, my lapses have been so long that I doubt I could promise to blog more often and still keep a sincere expression on my face. That said, I just made a whole mess of cookies and I'd be happy to give you some. Plus a hug.