This week: Storm in a cupcake Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Library Class! More Newsletters By This Editor
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It's all about putting the writer in you to work to analyse what happens!
(Especially when it's annoying! ) |
ASIN: 1542722411 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
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Dear Reader,
So I'm going to take a small incident, blow it out of proportion and analyse the heck out of it.
Ready?
Here's the background:
It's Dad and me at home. He's eighty-eight years old, I'm fifty-five. He has some food restrictions due to his age.
My hobby is to collect post-marks, and to send letters to my friends so that they receive post marks.
I have a friend to whom I've been sending letters and he tries to show his gratitude by sending ... cake.
Here's what happened:
So this friend asked if Dad and I would like cake. He'd get his daughter to bake it, when she had the time. His daughter loves backing (she runs a cafe).
I told him Dad needs bite-size cupcakes so he can pick them up in a spoon and eat them easily. Also, he has trouble with rich food, so the cakes should be light and simple. He replied 'noted'.
Then I told him that our address doesn't work on the e-map, and gave him the location to put, which works. He said I should give him the address anyway, as the delivery guy would ask for it. So I gave it, emphasising that it isn't the 'location'.
Two hours later, I got a call from the delivery guy. He had been given my address and was lost. When I understood that he'd been given only the address and not the 'location', I gave him the appropriate information and he got here.
I opened the package to find an assorted box of rich, creamy, store-bought cupcakes, big.
Very nice, you'd say. Very kind of my friend to send them, from an expensive new fancy cake shop.
My first thought wasn't 'very nice'. My first thought was, 'how's Dad going to eat this?'
I had to scoop out the least creamy bits and give them to him on a spoon. He could only taste bits of each cake. They wouldn't keep long. I gave some to he helper guy. I ate some. I enjoyed them at the time, but they proved a bit rich for me, too.
Outwardly, I kept my calm. I thanked my friend. He doesn't know I was annoyed about his cake. He hadn't heeded anything about location or content, he seemed to have simply told his daughter, 'I'm obliged to her, so send her cupcakes.'
Letting Gratitude in
I realised it's my choice how to react. I can be annoyed, or I can be grateful. It doesn't matter what happened, it's my reaction that counts.
So I thought - maybe the guy didn't fully register the importance of the 'location'. He hasn't experienced it himself, so it doesn't affect him.
And - the cupcakes. I guess it was a case of 'do unto others'. He would've LIKED to be surprised by expensive cupcakes when expecting simple ones, and so he thought I'd be happy as well. He was trying to make me happy. I have to be grateful.
So I'm grateful.
But - I'm not going to get myself into this situation again! When it comes to food for Dad, I'm going to politely say 'no' next time.
As a writer, I'm grateful - it gave me an anecdote for my newletter. I had to see it as a 'point of view' dilemma. From his point of view, he sent me cupcakes within a couple of hours - good, expensive cupcakes. From my point of view, he didn't keep to what had been agreed upon. There's the conflict and that's the heart of the story. Both of us have valid arguments in our favour, both of us have negatives against us. He can be said to be either generous or thoughtless, I can be said to be either forgiving or ungrateful. It all depends on the point of view.
Which is why it's so much fun to be a writer. You can say 'no' to cake - or you can say 'yes' to cake - without guilt!
Thanks for listening
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