You are not the typical LBS. Do you feel like you have made positive personal growth changes over the past 8 months?
I have. The biggest thing is that I have cut out the defensive responses and counter-attacks to W's criticisms and barbs. It's not the right way to handle her shyt. I've got that part down really well now. I have a different mindset and reaction to when W violates my boundaries - completely calm, matter-of-fact, never triggered (outwardly...). But I do call her out every single time she spews an insult. I never let them go. I just can't sit back and accept it. And she just can't help herself, she can't seem to just stop. But I am definitely calm. Sometimes I am spinning on the inside but I hold it down. When that goes away, I think I'll have really made it to where I want to be.
How to be truly friendly to someone that always seems to have a poison dart ready to fire at me? What a tough sitch man. So she's a snide clerk at the store, how do you interact with the snide condescending critical clerk? She can be nice but then a minute later - zing! - here comes the snide dart. It sux.
So I feel like I've got the response part down well, but the overall friendly interaction...? Needs work but it's a mountain to climb, it's Everest in my sitch, and W's at the summit rolling down rocks and ice on my head. Every time I feel like I'm getting into a decent spot, another snide comment comes raining down and I just want to get out and away.
