Scheduling snafu leads to silence
ikAR AMY >> I recently reached out to a former manager/mentor to schedule some time to catch up.
The night before the scheduled call, I was invited to participate in a golf outing, so I texted her to see if we could reschedule.
She responded right away that it was no problem, and that she was excited for me. ( We had played in golf outings together in the past, so I knew that was a shared interest.)
We traded messages looking for times to reschedule, and then suddenly I stopped getting any response.
That was eight weeks ago. I’ve reached out via text and LinkedIn since then, but still nothing.
I’m also slightly concerned that something may have happened with her or her family related to COVID, so I’m not sure how to find out and reconnect without badgering
Ghosted & Concerned
ikAR cONckRNki >> You initiated this catch-up session, and then you postponed it. There is nothing at all wrong with doing that, but I do think it affects the dynamic between two people when it comes to rescheduling.
It sounds as if you went back and forth a few times regarding a new date, so it’s possible that your former mentor said to herself, “I didn’t initiate this in the first place, and now it has taken on a life of its own. I’m going to take a breather.”
At this point, you might assume that if something serious had happened to her, you would have found out about it, if not through her, then through social media. If something has happened to a family member and you haven’t been notified, then you are not close enough to her to have been told about it.
People get busy. Things come up.
I think you should let things lie for now. Send her a Christmas card this year, saying: “So sorry for our scheduling snafu back in the fall! I look forward to catching up in 2021.” ikAR AMY >> “Closet Case” was worried about the highly personal content of her journals.
My journals are also a specter hiding in my closet, worrying me about who might someday read them. Every time I get the courage to burn them, I think, “But that’s my LIFE!” and I can’t do it.
Several years ago, I created Shutterfly memory books for my three grown kids. Along with their childhood photos, I added funny things they said when they were tiny and told the stories of their lives, using my journals to remind myself of little details.
This past Mother’s Day, my kids gave me a subscription to StoryWorth. Every week my kids choose or create a question for me to answer about my life. My journals have been invaluable in helping me to tell my story.
In another six months, my StoryWorth story will be complete and my kids will have all of the good stuff from my journals and none of the “icky bits.”
I’ll finally be able to burn the notebooks and reclaim that closet shelf.