Tears

I made a girl cry today at work. Actually two girls cry, in a span of 10 minutes. The first one was justified I think, but the second one caught me off guard. Sometimes it sucks having to tell someone the truth, even if it hurts them. That was the case today for both parties.

First I told a "friend" that I didn't think she was being much of one to me. It felt good to stand up for myself, but part of me wonders if her tears weren't just a mechanism to make me feel sorry for her and let up. I held firm in my resolve and told her exactly what I was thinking and feeling, so ultimately I pushed things over to her and we'll see what happens next. Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy that I made her cry, that would be cruel. I just hope that her tears make her think about how she has been towards me. Whether or not we are friends in the future will be up to her now, and I'll make certain it is on my terms. The doormat days are over.

Now, the second victim today was an employee of mine that is on the verge of getting fired. I'm used to the routine by now, the crying to illicit sympathy, but damn if sometimes it doesn't get to me. I'm surrounded by a lot of single, young working mothers and their problems with money and child care make me sad sometimes. I bet it's hard as hell to juggle a family and work, so even though I was holding my ground with this situation, I did feel bad for making her upset. That's the nice guy in me.