When Life Hands You A Lemon

The other night I was watching the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

For me, it's one of those guilty pleasure, chick flick movies.  I've always

loved clothes and shoes and my early style sense was developed by my

Aunt Susan who spent a couple of her early years in NYC working as

a fashion model.  While I was in college in Lake Forest, IL, I spent 

many weekends in the city visiting her at her apartment.  We would

pour over the latest copies of Vogue and Women's Wear Daily, and she

would teach me make-up tricks and how to style my hair.  As an eighteen

year old girl, image was everything ;-)

I'm giving you this background info about me, because I very, very seldom

discuss fashion on this blog, and you are probably wondering what on

earth this memory from my younger days could possibly have to do with

lemons, yet in a round about way, it does.  The character of Miranda

Priestly in the movie is a self absorbed, demanding, and driven editor who

makes every one of her employees both anxious to please her, and terrified

of not doing so.  Still, what does this have to do with a lemon?

This woman reminds me of a boss I once had.  Actually, I have worked

for two individuals much like Miranda, a man and a woman, but this

tale is about a female boss from hell, a very sour lemon.

Right after our honeymoon, David and I moved from Houston to

Northern Virginia, where he had accepted to new job. We were married

in June, and I took the summer off before deciding to look for a new job.

With it's easy access to Washington, DC, good jobs were plentiful, but

I was uncertain about the kind of job I wanted, so I signed up with a

temp agency who specialized in professional positions.  With great

enthusiasm and resume in hand, I met with them and the very next

morning I had an interview at a major company that distributed computers

to various retail stores throughout the US, Mexico and Canada.  That's 

when I met HER ~ the boss from hell!

I walked into a large corner office with lots of windows, which instantly

 expressed the power this woman possessed.  Thinking back upon this

initial meeting, I recall that her desk was actually raised on a small

platform that gave her the advantage of height over anyone sitting in

the chair in front of her.  This was a blatant power play and I found 

myself at the feet of the master of grand standing.

After I introduced myself and handed her my resume, she told

me to have a seat in the chair facing her desk.  I felt like a small

child sitting in front of the principal.   The room was silent as she

perused my resume for a while.  I did my best to calm my nerves

during the stillness.  Then she raised her head, lowered her reading

glasses, looked intently at me and said ....

I have fired the last ten individuals who held the position for

which you are now being considered.  What quality do you have

that should encourage me to give you a chance?

Trust me, at this moment, I felt like Dorothy standing before

the great, and all powerful Wizard of Oz.  I sensed that a long speech

voicing my previous accomplishments would be wasted on this

no nonsense woman, so I mustered up all my resolve and 

replied with one word ....

Perseverance

She sat back in her chair, looked straight into my eyes and

said ....

Okay, I'll give you ONE chance!

I accepted the position.  I came to work early, I stayed late.  I did

everything I possibly could to prove to this woman that I would

not only meet her expectations, I would exceed them.  

After working in this position for several months, she called me

into her office once again.  I could not imagine what this meeting

might mean and was a bit nervous, but once again I calmed my

nerves and sat in the small chair in front of the big, bad boss.

She informed me that the company was planning to relocate to 

Philadelphia and that she was offering me a permanent position

there.  

Of course I could not accept, my husband loved his job and

we were now entrenched in Virginia.  I thanked her for her 

faith in me, and turned down the position.

Sometimes life hands us a lemon.  Embrace the challenge.

Have faith in yourself.  Persevere.  You may just be 

surprised at what you can accomplish in the face of

adversity.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley