July 20, 2009 Being the Middleman

Being the “Middleman”

Maybe it’s just my personality, perhaps it’s my birth order, or maybe it’s just karma but I’m always in the middle of things. If someone has a problem, yep, I’m the “go to” gal with the answers and I end up putting them in touch with someone to help.
I know Attica is a small town, and knowing several people as I do, the odds are good that there will come a time when I am in the middle of just about any situation. This month I’ve been in the middle of at least three dilemmas involving animals and I have several phone calls to return that I’m sure will put me in the middle of more of them.
I’m really not complaining, I am here to help people out. It’s always been my intention to pass along any knowledge I have to help someone. But I’m starting to have trouble remembering who or what I’m talking about and it’s getting a little overwhelming.
I am glad that I have the knowledge to put people in touch. I’ve always thought I’d make a great investigator. I’ve become a great researcher of facts. I have a way of weaseling information out of people that nobody else can crack. It’s become a talent in a way.
I think it started when I was searching for my birth mother. I’m adopted and although my adoptive parents tried to help me find her, when you have a closed adoption it becomes impossible. After my parents passed away, I felt like the last dinosaur on earth, and the drive to find out where I came from was eating at me so I began investigating and getting in touch with other people (and this was all before the internet) and one day I received a phone call from my birth mom. We have a good relationship now and visit and talk often.
This is when I found out my birth order was a middle child, even though I was raised as the youngest and pretty much the only child in the house, all my adoptive brothers and sisters were much older than I was and on their own.
I find myself being the person to “mediate” things between people, and also tend to be the one who seeks attention (hence the youngest or only child). The problem is, because I’m in the “middle”, I get a little too personally involved at times. I try hard to stay neutral and keep out of things, but somehow I get dragged into it no matter what.
I asked someone once “why me?”…the reply was “why not you?” I guess maybe that is my lot in life, I guess someone has to be in the middle or there would never be any resolutions to any problems. I am the listening ear for friends and sometimes complete strangers but I don’t mind.
Even my dog is in the middle of things. Jasmine loves other dogs and likes to play with them but Bogey because he is elderly, isn’t so fond of rambunctious dogs. When he is feeling a little overwhelmed, Jasmine senses that and immediately comes to his rescue, and gets between them, protecting her “little brother”. She even protects our cat Dixie from our other cat Butterscotch. Butterscotch is a young cat, and being young and kittenish, she loves to play attack the old cat which sends Dixie into a rage of howling, hissing, cat fits. Jasmine to the rescue again, getting between the cats, giving a growl to say “okay, that’s enough!” and peace and order are soon restored.
Dreamer, my sheltie barks at my boys when they are fussing at each other. “He’s telling on you again,” I yell to my boys as they ignore his ever so loud and annoying barks. That is usually enough to break any tension and get things restored to near normalcy.
So I guess I’m not alone in my “middleman” role in life. I just hope that peace and order are soon restored in our world as we all deal with the daily turmoil of life.