I'm So Glad We're Bringing This Up...AGAIN

It happened in a blink of an eye. Our department “Fun Friday” activity involved chair racing. My partner and I had managed to eek out a small lead coming around the last corner. The other team crashed into us as their momentum swung around. Me and the passenger in the other chair, tangled limbs. I felt myself shift in the chair. I have a bad feeling about this…

CRACK!

The bike helmet flew off and hit the table. Meanwhile I landed on the floor. I was stunned, but not hurt. And suprisingly, laughing. Thankfully, they took the time to find out if I was okay before laughing at me – as was their right at the time. Having flown off a chair and landing on my ass (and not to mention that it’s all on video) in front of all my co-workers isn’t exactly what you want to be known for at the office. But I figured that I could be a good sport about it. What’s a little good natured ribbing amongst teammates, right?

I quickly found out that I could try to be a good sport about it…but my co-workers didn’t have to be.

“We saw the video.”

“You know Lily; I bet if we send it to America’s Funniest Home Videos, we’d win.”

“You were okay, so it’s okay to laugh at it.”

“It’s not like you were hurt.”

All the while, I held my ground. Tried to go along with the little remarks and embarrassment. I’m usually really good at going with the flow and taking jokes made about me in stride. Heck, I make some of the better short jokes about me than most people. I would be the mature one about it.

Well, that was my plan until today. Yet again, the “Chair Incident” popped up. I knew they were doing it just to get a rise out of me. Waiting for the “bite me” or something worse. I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction about it. I was going to take the high road about it. I was going to take it like a big girl.

DAMMIT. I’M SICK OF BEING THE GOOD SPORT!

So, I hit back. Hard. They wanted to humiliate me again? Fine. I hit them in the bread basket. I was a blur of sarcastic and cutting remarks. I went for the quick, merciless, ruthless, and meanest things I could say. They piled on more – I tried to hit back harder. I would not be satisfied until I have verbally pummeled them into submission, THEIR FEELINGS BE DAMNED.

And at the end of it – it felt GOOD.

Who says you have to be nice all the time? I mean really…joking is fun…but at some point you have to take someone’s feelings into account, you know? There comes a point where that person wants to turn around and say, “Are you done making fun of me yet? Don’t you have anything else better to do?”

And I know I can already hear it. I need to lighten up. I have to take it like an adult. They’re only kidding. They don’t mean any harm by it. It’s all in good fun.

BLAH. BLAH. BLAH.

Put yourself in that chair and see how’d you feel having it constantly brought up. Lucky you…you don’t have to.