The Gatekeeper
I had anticipated this face to face meeting with apprehension since the initial phone conversation.
She had sounded so dispassionate, so inflexible, so unwilling to listen to reason, refusing to take our extenuating circumstances into consideration.
After hanging up, I analyzed my options. Then I took appropriate action to obtain the required documents as explicitly stated in the on-line form, even going above and beyond what the instructions indicated.
Which was a very good thing.
She was nothing like I had imagined.
Just a decent person in a tough job.
My heart went out to her when she told us about the cancer, which I had suspected when we first sat down.
She had customized the necessary documents to include additional requirements, contradicting what was supposed to be a uniform, district-wide policy.
But we had come prepared.