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Subject: Self Care for Balloon Artists and Others
Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:51:02 -0400
From: "Marsha Gallagher" <marsha(at)balloonhq.com>
Imagine you've had a great day, things have been flowing smoothly, and
the guests at the party seem happy. You have an hour to make 25-30
balloons and are on schedule with just a few, including one for the
birthday celebrant, to finish. The party is outdoors, however, and the
kids are little. Many of them have already popped their balloons and
have come back to get another even though you've explained to them and
to the parents that you have to make sure everyone at the party gets a
balloon before you can even think about repairing or replacing the
broken ones.
It's time to go, everyone's had a balloon, and you've made as many
replacements as you can when you meet HER. You know the mom I mean:
she's mad because her kid didn't get exactly what he wanted and now
you're saying you have to go. "Sure, run away. Two extra minutes to
make a child happy and you have to go for the wallet. I won't
recommend you to anyone." And on it goes.
I managed to only say, "That's fine. I do need to go." The host
offered to pay overtime so I could make the extra balloon, was
gracious, and we came to an agreement. I know this family from the
farmers market where they always get something for their child and tip
generously, so I didn't charge him any extra. I made a very simple
version of what the kid wanted, apologized to the host for upsetting
his guest, made the kid trade in the balloon he didn't like, and left
the party.
We all have these days, we all know these people. Some days, however,
it feels like so much work to deal with them, or to remind yourself
that you're a professional doing a good job, respecting the time
constraints and budget set forth in the contract with the host. How do
you take care of yourself, not let the grumpy and entitled people nag
at the back of your mind for the rest of the day? What self care
strategies work best for you?
The archives contain volumes of posts on how to handle ending the line
so we don't need to rehash that here. We need to offer each other
suggestions on how to stay positive even in the face of the inevitable
adversity we will continue to encounter in this work. Remember
National Night Out Against Crime? We need Balloon Artists against
Bullies, except that sets us up as adversaries when it would be better
to partner with these people and help them want to respect us and our art.
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