Confusion

The weather is confused, my job is confused and so am I. Last night it poured rain and about 3am came the most horendous thunder and lightnening, as if it were mid-Summer. Bud the dog went absolutely nuts. He hates thunder and lightening. He tries to chase it, running along as if he is following the sound of the thunder across the sky. The only other pet who is upset by such weather is Sammy, the oldest black cat. He is usually a big, brave cat. Friend to all, he is not afraid of much. But just the slightest, most distant rumble sends him under the bed for the duration.
As for the coaching situation. There I was on Monday night, agonizing throughout the first group from 4-7pm. Such a sour mood, but I converted it into a bunch of new teaching ideas that just floored my coaching partner. She really didn't know what to make of my new-found bossiness! It was compounded by the fact that she new perfectly well what was going to occur at 7pm when she went merrily on to work with the Level 5 group and I was uncerimoniously sent home like a naughty child. The clock inched slowly forward, maybe because I kept looking up at it every five minutes. At 7pm the shift in groups occured...the Level 4s leave and the 5,6 and Optional Level groups begin. But where was she? The Level 6 coach was not there. The official training starts at 6:00 when all groups come together for conditioning and flexibility training so she was already an hour late. 7:15, still no sign of her and the boss was shut away in a meeting. Should I just walk out and leave them hanging? Of course not. Human doormat that I am I stayed with the Level 6 group who were quite happy to see me. I was almost brought to tears as one of them had brought me a hand-made card to thank me for my work with them while their usual coach was away. 7:20 Kelly, a former coach shows up. She fills in sometimes when we are short-handed. Short-handed? We weren't short-handed. More approrpiately I was back-handed by the boss again as she told me that she had Kelly come in to cover for Becca, the abscent Level 6 coach, and that I should go home now. This made no sense at all and it felt like even more of a personal insult then ever before. The very shocking thing is, after I had dwelled upon this all night and most of this morning, she came up to me at Noon today and apologized! She said she had been confused about the situation since it was her monthly Monday night Parent League meeting and Kelly always comes in on that Monday. She hadn't put two and two together to also realize Becca was out sick and I was already there to take Becca's place. It did feel a bit better to know she admitted her mistake but the damage has been done. It must be my personality type, but it seems this happens to me quite often. Either I am totally over-looked or I am the first one to accept compromise while everyone else gets exactly what they want no matter what. As I was heading out the door last night, coat on, purse in hand, the Level 6 girls were still asking me questions about certain elements and who would be working with them that night. What a mess. But what sort of stand can I make now? I accepted her apology with sort of a half-smile and a nod...nothing to the effect of "it's OK" or finding any humor at all in it. I am one of those people that gets stepped on and no on seems to notice that I am flattened. So my reaction, or lack of one, to her apologize (and the whole situation in general) I am sure will go quite un-noticed.

Although this pitiful situation is far from finished, I do have a cross-stitch finish to show. "The Planets". I also worked rather diligently at Barrick Samplers "One Stag a Leaping" during the Super Bowl party and completed the grassy hills and part of the over-dyed blue sky. I deleted some of the little flowers and trees, because I like the look of the clean color areas surrounding the stag. I have to complete the clover flowers in the border area and then that one is complete also. I feel I am really pushing forward on emptying that canvas bag of UFOs. I will tackle the tremendous "Citrus Fruits" pillow next. There is a small counting error in one of the oranges and I think it may throw everything else out of whack. I have to figure a way around it and still keep the pillow square. Joe is not feeling well and has gone to bed very early. Although I am lacking in good company and conversation I do get the "good chair" to myself, the one with the good lighting that is, so I can stitch for the next 2 hours. In my browsing of the Internet earlier today I am very happy to see Annemarie back on-line. I missed your sharp sense of humor, Annemarie. Your blog is always filled with interesting stories that give me the proper perspective of Life's ups and downs.
I conclude this post with photos of one of my favorite historical figures. I am fascinated by all the Victorian and Edwardian Era royalty of Europe, but most especially the Romanov Imperial Family of Russia. The Empress Alexandra Feodorvna and her four daughter were, by all I have read about them, quite talented needleworkers.

For those of you interested in more about the Romanovs and their extended family check out the Alexander Palace Time Machine website. It has a wonderful message board filled with interesting information and gorgeous old photographs.