My mother turned off the heat mat!! :'(

[AntTheDestroyer]

Call me old fashioned, but when a member calls their parent a "total idiot" and "an old bat" (especially when it's in their first two posts), I don't find that the least bit respectful regardless of the circumstance and I find it hard to overlook those words. I don't judge people based on their age, but I sure as heck will judge them based on their actions. Actions can change, though, and I'm glad to read about the happy ending. It sure took a long and winding road to get there in the course of this thread, though!

This post reminds me of the job interview question, "Have you ever had difficulty working with a supervisor or manager?" When that question is asked, they're not really asking about your past supervisors - they're asking about you. They want to know how you are to work with. The answer you choose to give them will tell them more about you than about your previous boss. So, if you launch into a story about how your old boss yelled at everyone, or was unreasonable in his or her demands, or was a bad manager, the only message they will get is that you bad mouth people. If you talk about how your boss accused you of not working hard enough when you clearly did, they'll assume that you're someone who doesn't work hard. If you mention a boss who played favorites, they'll think you're a difficult person to work with. So, you have to be very careful about answering this question - even if you had legitimate complaints about your old boss. And, lots of bosses earn every one of those complaints. You can't say so. It's never a good idea to bad mouth your former boss for any reason. Keep in mind that any story you do tell should be the Disney story - positive and with a happy ending.

If the OP's question would have been phrased as if it was the situation, not the person, that was difficult, this thread would have been very different. In the end, though, the OP took proactive steps to resolve it in a mature fashion and the end result was a productive one. Hooray.

Having said all of that, that portion of this thread has run its course. I'm sure we all learned a thing or two from each other which, ultimately, is the goal of this forum. Now, if we could learn a few more things about snakes and less about the OP's personal life in this thread going forward, that would be great. Thanks!

You're old fashioned.