There come times when you are required to make tough choices, and yesterday was one of them. For about 6 weeks, B and I had been helping out someone in need, who came to us when he had nowhere else to go. We provided a work space for him, let him stay at our house until he could find his own place, fed him, drove him around when he needed to do errands or deliveries. In short, provided a comfortable environment to someone who hadn’t known such a thing in many years, if ever. Unfortunately, it seems that we may have provided too much comfort, for although he had found his own apartment, he continued staying over at our house. And eating our food. And expecting us to drive him around. He had become a nuisance and a burden.
The lack of privacy was really starting to get to us, and Saturday night B and I told him we wanted an evening alone and drove him to his own place. He obviously wasn’t going to take a hint, so we were forced to be quite blunt with him. Well the next morning, he showed up on our front porch, knocking at the door. B and I knew who it was, and decided we weren’t going to answer. We knew he had probably been drinking, but figured he would go away if we didn’t answer. Wrong. Unbelievingly, he continued knocking on the door for another 45 minutes… When we finally realized that he wasn’t going anywhere, B opened the door and told him to get the hell off our property (I’m actually surprised the neighbours didn’t call the cops, considering how much a racket he was making on a Sunday morning).
We made the decision that we would never let this man into our house again. He has left several phone messages for B, which we’ve ignored. We talked about it most of yesterday, and both of us feel that a huge burden has been lifted from our shoulders. This man had become a huge nuisance, and was obviously not interested in helping himself out of his situation. I’m all for being charitable, but there comes a limit when the financial and emotional burden is too much to take… I made a conscious decision several years to try to, if not eliminate, then reduce, the amount of contact I have with toxic people, and this guy definitely is on the black list.
On to more positive things…
Saturday morning I taught the ribbon-hinged album workshop and had such a great time with my students. Three of the five students had taken my other classes before, so it seems I’m building quite a reputation! I was a bit nervous about teaching this class, as the book structure was much more complicated than the other classes I’ve taught, but the students were sharp and caught on quickly. They also had very positive comments to say about the class, so I’m quite ecstatic. The students got to choose their own papers for this class, and the results were amazing. Everyone’s book was different, but each was just as beautiful as the next. I really hope to teach this workshop again soon, especially since I now know what to expect.
I was scheduled to teach a class at a new location on Sunday, but unfortunately we were forced to cancel due to lack of participants. Oh well… The owner of the store was very apologetic, but I don’t blame her in any way. I’ve never taught at her store, and I’m assuming her clientele don’t really know me or my work yet. We just need to give it time. I think she’s hoping to reschedule another workshop sometime soon, so hopefully this one will draw more interest.
And finally…
This past week I’ve received several emails from complete strangers who said they have come across my blog and really enjoy it! Being completely new to the blogging world, I’m extremely flattered to receive ANY comments at all! Thank you to Soren, Kristen and Judith for your heartwarming emails and for the encouragement! And thanks to Iona (not a stranger, but a dear friend) for your wonderful comments too!
Papermusings 
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