and so it goes

I'm the first to say that I love living in Seattle. It's so full of go-getters who are doing interesting things on every front, and I totally love living in a place with so much geographic drama. But since returning from Mexico, where the warmth and eye-contact between people is so much more vibrant against Seattle's practiced reserve (read: social distance), I've been inwardly seething at some of the gross interactions I've had with people here. Seattle is as famous for a certain brand of passive/aggressive smugness as it is for espresso, but I've been happy to discover many, many exceptions to this rule. This week, though, maybe (again), as a comparison to tropical dwellers, it's been more apparent than ever. I won't go into detail. But just picture trying to smile genuinely at people you pass and having person after person either frown back or give a weird, tight-lipped "what're you so perky about?" feigned grin. Add to that some instructive self-righteousness. Yuck!

So anyway, today I was at a playground with my boys and there was an older kid who was dominating a little water/sand contraption and who was getting annoyed at my toddlers' tries at helping. This was frustrating, especially since he was using our buckets and the toy was made for smaller kids (Can you see where this is going? Can you already sense my ridiculousness?) I finally got exasperated, and, with no decorum, lifted my boys and the buckets from the scene. "I'm taking this bucket." No niceties, no communication with a kid that was maybe eight. Hear my confession, brothers and sisters. I was embarrassed at myself for my own version of weird passive/aggressive behavior, remembering that SO often the things that are the most vexing to me are traits that I myself carry. I internally admitted and asked forgiveness for my complicity, and on the way home, we ended up running into a woman who lives down the street, whose entire family has repeatedly defied all the stereotypes aforementioned. And she was, as always, friendly and genuine. In a nutshell, I'm humbled.