As a reader of this blog, you know I have social anxiety. I don’t do well in groups and I definitely do not like to have all eyes on me. I prefer to blend in and go unnoticed—if I even attend events at all.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen a few weeks ago. In fact, my worst nightmare came true.
Okay, okay. It wasn’t my WORST nightmare—that would involve snakes. But it was still pretty bad. Anyway, here’s what happened:
I sit on the Equity Council for our school district. Last month, we had our first quarterly meeting of the school year. As usual, I arrived five minutes late.
Normally, I can sneak in quietly and find an open seat at one of the four-person tables.
Not this time.
Because it was the first meeting of the year, the group was taking turns introducing themselves. I spied an open seat and discretely moved towards it. As I was placing my laptop on the table, the glass bottle I was holding slipped from my hand and shattered, soaking the carpet with 32 ounces of water and tiny shards of glass. F@CK!
Needless to say, my wanna-be discreet entrance was anything but.
Cue the nightmare: All eyes were on me. My heart was racing. I could feel my face and neck heating up. Luckily, the bottle had rolled under the table, so I was mostly hidden from the group while I tried to clean up the mess. That saving grace afforded me a few minutes to somewhat compose myself before it was my turn to introduce myself.
So how’d I handle it?
Red-faced and embarrassed with a dose of self-deprecating humor and saucy sarcasm … My signature style. I’m nothing if not reliable for a laugh in an awkward moment.
Our next meeting isn’t until February, so I have time to find a replacement bottle and practice my entrance. What’s the over-under on how late I’ll be for that meeting?
—LJDT
