I was SO excited.
For the first time, I was going to a holiday party with a date!
And not just any holiday party. This was a chance for Carl to spend time with my people, get to know them a little better, and for us to enjoy a fun evening together.
I was looking forward to it. The games, the laughter, the Christmas festivities...and the fact that I actually had a guy coming with me this time. 😂
What could go wrong?
Well, apparently, I could say something wrong.
Wait...Did You Just Correct Me?
We were in the middle of playing a party game when I accidentally misspoke.
Nothing major. Just one of those little things that comes out wrong when you're talking, and normally everyone either understands what you meant or laughs and moves on.
Except Carl didn't move on.
Right there, in front of everyone, he pointed it out.
"Oh, you said that wrong!"
And suddenly, I was very aware that everyone had just heard him correct me.
My face got hot, and I felt embarrassed.
I remember thinking, Really? Did we need to point that out in front of everybody?
I hadn't been giving a presentation. We were playing a party game! 😂
And then, as if correcting me wasn't enough, he corrected my mom too.
Oh boy.
That was when I really started paying attention.
It's Not Always About Being Right
I don't remember that evening because I said something wrong during a game.
I remember it because of how I felt when Carl pointed it out in front of everyone.
I had been so excited to bring him along, and now I was sitting there feeling embarrassed and a little uncomfortable.
And when he corrected my mom, I started wondering if this was something he did regularly.
Was it important to him to make sure people knew when they were wrong? Did he even realize how his corrections might make someone feel?
I don't know exactly what was going through his head that evening. Maybe he thought he was being helpful.
But I do know how it felt on the receiving end.
And I started realizing that there's a difference between helping someone and making sure everyone knows they've made a mistake.
Sometimes you can be completely right about something and still choose the wrong moment to say it.
What That Christmas Party Taught Me
Looking back, I'm glad I had the opportunity to bring Carl around my people.
Not because the evening went exactly how I'd imagined. Clearly, it did not. 😂
But because I got to see another side of him.
When you're getting to know someone, it's easy to focus on how they treat you when it's just the two of you. You're having conversations, going on dates, and hopefully seeing all those wonderful qualities that made you interested in them in the first place.
But I think there's something important about seeing how someone interacts with the other people in your life.
How do they treat your family? Your friends? How do they respond when someone makes a mistake or says something differently than they would?
And maybe just as importantly, how do you feel when you're around them?
I don't expect someone I'm dating to agree with everything I say or never correct me. Goodness knows I make plenty of mistakes. 😂
But I do want to be with someone who makes me feel comfortable being myself, even when I accidentally say something wrong during a Christmas party game.
Because I think kindness matters just as much in the little moments as it does in the big ones.
And that evening gave me something new to pay attention to as I continued getting to know Carl.
Okay, now I'm curious about you... ❤️
Have you ever been corrected or called out by someone you were dating in front of other people? How did it make you feel?
And where do you think the line is between being helpful and unnecessarily pointing out someone's mistakes?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! I'm curious whether anyone else has had one of those moments when a seemingly small interaction made you start looking at someone a little differently. ❤️
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