Mean people suck

I had an encounter with a Very Mean Person today.

I went to the hospital today to visit my mother. She had back surgery yesterday. She has been having execrating pain in her hip and leg for the past month or two. After being given several diagnoses it was determined that she has degenerative disc disease. Her surgery appears to be a success (so far). While back is in considerable pain, her hip and leg are virtually pain free.

Anyway, enough about her. I'll get to my story, because this blog is all about me. :)

I will preface this story by saying it was entirely my fault. As I returned to my car, I noticed the Lexus next to me very slowly backing out of her parking place. As I approached my truck she rolled down her window, pointed at my truck and asked if it belonged to me. I told her it was, and politely asked if there was a problem. She very angrily replied that I had parked so close to her car that she had to crawl in on the passenger side. ---I would like to point out that I drive a giant Ford Excursion and occasionally have trouble maneuvering it into parking places.--- I told her I was very sorry to inconvenience her. Then she wanted to where the hell did I get my drivers license. I once again told her how sorry I was, that is was an accident on my part, and that I would be more careful next time. She then looked my up and down and told me that I was a "stupid, fat bitch. I was dumbstruck, to say the least. I had the presence of mind to not stoop to her level. I calmly replied, "At least I'm not mean." At that point she squealed off in a huff. Well, as much as you can squeal off in a busy hospital parking lot.

As soon as I climbed into my truck I started crying hysterically. I continued to cry all the way home. By the time I got home I was a hot mess. Bill and the children hugged me and talked soothingly to me until I calmed down.

Later on, after I had a chance to calm down, I was able to able to reassess the situation.  Maybe she had just gotten

some bad news a the  hospital. Maybe she was royally ticked at me for the way I parked. Or maybe she just has anger issues.

I meditated for a few minutes to clear my head. I reminded myself that I had to own the situation, accept my responsibility and let it go. I cleared out the negative energy and immediately felt better.

The lesson I learned from this is to be patient and kind to others, especially when they are irritating or frustrating me.

Peace

Wendy

Comments

[Chuck Boyd]

Wow. You're good! Think well of yourself.

I hope to be that strong in such a situation.

[Christy]

You ROCK!! But you should know that already:)

[Jstlookn]

Awwwwww...just what you needed after worrying about your Momma...A pox on people who are mean to the core.

I'm proud of you for not responding the way I might have.
Yes, you do ROCK!

[Angela]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. My oldest child (almost 7) had to deal with one very mean girl at art camp this summer. I explained to her that this girl was mean not because of anything my daughter did or didn't do or how my daughter looked or acted - this girl was mean because somewhere inside she felt very badly about herself. It was much easier for her to cope with this girl after that - my daughter viewed her with pity instead of anger.

You were very gracious in your attitude toward this woman - even if it ultimately had nothing to do with you, it had to do with the fact that she had other junk going on in her life, and you were a safe target on which to vent her anger, it still hurts to be treated that way - and your ability to let it go does you credit.

[none]

glad you see that you know this was your fault - sad that she was so rude, but are you maybe missing part of the point?

if you have a large family & drive a large car, can you think twice or more about how & where you park? do you also consider your environmental impact overall? one reason we do not have a large family is that it is generally not an environmentally responsible thing to do...

I am not saying it's ok that this person called you a name and was rude to you, nor do I know why she was so rude, but PLEASE consider that she was angry about the difficulty you & others like you with huge cars (huge family or not) may cause her daily, weekly or even monthly.

I hope that another lesson that you have taken from this ordeal is that you should be aware of the inconsiderate behavior of you and/or your fellow large-vehicle drivers and always drive and park responsibly - constantly remembering that, by your own admission, you drive a large vehicle.

Thank you & blessings to you and yours.

[Wendy Fairfull]

Well,"none",I would be more than happy to engage in civil discourse about some of the problems you mentioned, but since you commented anonymously that will be impossible. I would give much more credence to your opinions if you had chosen to post a real name and a real email address.

[no one]

In response to your comment about her being inconsiderate, I must say that the place she was parking has very small parkings spaces and there is no choice in where to park. So she could either park there or not visit her mother in the hospital. I would hope you would not say she should have just not visited her mother... LOTS of people drive large vehicles now, even without have a large family. So I think rather than discussing the environmental matter with someone who chose to have a large family and needs a larger vehicle, you should discuss this with all those who are driving alone. Or Perhaps businesses need to consider making parking spaces larger to support the vehicles most people are driving. Very few people drive compact cars anymore compared to those driving bigger vehicles. I have also had to squeeze into my vehicle when people have parked too close ...even in very small cars. Unfortunately no one is perfect and everyone is going to make a mistake that causes someone else an annoyance. I think we all need to learn to be kinder and more understanding to each other.

[Christy]

Wendy all none made me do was was to have another kid;) Don't tell Allen

[Shawna Lee]

Wendy, so sorry that happened to you. I think we just need to pray over people like that. Obviously they have more going on than getting stuck in the parking lot! I hope your mama is doing well.

I've gotten stuck in the hospital parking garage before, and I have a SMALL family and a SMALL car! And not even because I want to....the Lord decided not to bless me with a large family, nor the means with which to buy a larger car.

[Mary]

I'm new your blogsite, but did want to take a minute after reading your wonderful post (my deepest compassion to your mom, back pain is awful) ~

I think you displayed a great deal of emotional maturity and control, plus you had the courage to gently stand up for yourself by making the point that 'at least you weren't MEAN'. Not only that, but you tried to put yourself in the other person's shoes.

Very proud of you!!!!!! Wish there were more people in the world who conduct themselves as well as you obviously did :)

[Michele Reneau]

Mean people suck! I'm doing Beth Moore's Esther study right now and there is an awesome session about mean/angry people. You handled that better than I. You are my hero!

[Jean]

I'm very proud of your maturity in handling the encounter in the hospital parking lot. You outdid yourself in your reply to that chicken 'none'. Wish I could have gotten out of my bed and made it downstairs and gotten into this fray. That rude Lexus driver would have cringed in fear. I would like 'none' and all your other constant readers (sorry Stephen King) to know that although you do drive a huge vehicle, the amount of miles you drive are paltry compared to most drivers. It's been three weeks since back surgery, and as soon as I can ditch the wheelchair and walker I'll be ready to take on anybody who picks on my girl.

Love,

Mama