Of all the awkward exchanges in life, there is one that just gives me more stress and anxiety than all the others. I am fine with talking to people who have excellent eye contact. I am okay with friendly people in the elevator. I am even good with taking turns at the water fountain or ice machine.
But the one that gets me, turns me inside out, makes me calculate from a distance to avoid it is the whole "holding the door" for people thing. It absolutely makes no sense at all. There I am walking up to a door and suddenly there is a girl behind me. But of course, she is not right behind me. She is like 50 feet away. And so I open the door with a smile on my face and act like I am going to be there all day. Then, she makes it even more awkward by shuffling her feet and lunging forward to act like she is hurrying to help me not have to wait so long.
Then, it gets worse. How could it get worse? I don't know. But it does. There is a second door. Everywhere you go, there is a second door. Something to do with air conditioning I imagine. But then, she goes through that second door herself and does not even acknowledge that I am coming through as well. It makes the whole initial act of holding the first door absolutely pointless. It's not that I expect the door to be held for me. And, I can't get through to hold the door for the person a second time because there is no room and I would look like a bigger idiot than I already do.
What am I supposed to do here? Take my son along wherever I go and have him ready to open the second door? "You be ready, son! This is a big responsibility." It would be really cute. The Father/Son team who beat the Second Door Dilemma.
