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| The horror. |
Most people will respond in fairly predictable ways to this information. I imagine you are thinking something similar yourselves so please consult the following list to see where your initial reaction falls. It's been a fun few weeks for me...
Sympathy Response A - sad face accompanied by gentle, comforting touch to my
shoulder.
Most people fall into this category. It shows genuine caring and I get this from strangers and friends alike. It is a true outpouring of real compassion. Nevertheless, it does not prevent me from enjoying how confused they get when I explain that Husband and I requested this posting. We really did. No one gets that. Weird.
Sympathy Response B - sad face accompanied by gentle, comforting touch to their
chest.
This one puzzled me for a long time but I think it means they have lost a loved one to the Cold Lake Monster or the recent zombie outbreak and are self-soothing in order to keep from losing it. I usually offer these folks a candy and a hot beverage.
Schadenfreude - gleeful smirk followed by an ironic, "Oh, have fun."
These folks are my favourite. I let them crank on about how devastatingly cold it will be. In Cold Lake. In the winter. In Canada. I figure it's their only joke so I let them take it all the way to their punch line, ("Sure hope you like to shovel! Hnur hnur hnur.") before I take a deep breath and just burst into blubbering sobs that wrack my whole body. I mean I really let loose. On my best day there's a trail of snot all the way to my chin. I maintain wounded and confused eye contact the entire time, shaking my head and gasping "Whu-whu-why di-d-did you h-h-have to suh-suh-say that!?" between heart wrenching sobs. I can usually keep it up until they reach out and try to comfort me at which point I jerk away, scream "Don't touch me!" and watch them stagger back, confused and trying to flee. I've never actually made someone cry with me but we are here until August, so there's time yet.
shoulder.
Most people fall into this category. It shows genuine caring and I get this from strangers and friends alike. It is a true outpouring of real compassion. Nevertheless, it does not prevent me from enjoying how confused they get when I explain that Husband and I requested this posting. We really did. No one gets that. Weird.
Sympathy Response B - sad face accompanied by gentle, comforting touch to their
chest.
This one puzzled me for a long time but I think it means they have lost a loved one to the Cold Lake Monster or the recent zombie outbreak and are self-soothing in order to keep from losing it. I usually offer these folks a candy and a hot beverage.
Schadenfreude - gleeful smirk followed by an ironic, "Oh, have fun."
These folks are my favourite. I let them crank on about how devastatingly cold it will be. In Cold Lake. In the winter. In Canada. I figure it's their only joke so I let them take it all the way to their punch line, ("Sure hope you like to shovel! Hnur hnur hnur.") before I take a deep breath and just burst into blubbering sobs that wrack my whole body. I mean I really let loose. On my best day there's a trail of snot all the way to my chin. I maintain wounded and confused eye contact the entire time, shaking my head and gasping "Whu-whu-why di-d-did you h-h-have to suh-suh-say that!?" between heart wrenching sobs. I can usually keep it up until they reach out and try to comfort me at which point I jerk away, scream "Don't touch me!" and watch them stagger back, confused and trying to flee. I've never actually made someone cry with me but we are here until August, so there's time yet.
