New People

I am working on a project for the group that manages our kids business at work. As I was talking to the leader of the group, she asked if I had kids. I answered "yes." She asked if they were young kids. I answered "yes." Thinking I was off the hook for further explanations, we continued the discussion. But later as I was trying to explain an experience with a particular product, I ended up mentioning that my daughter would have been almost 4. Then I gave a brief explanation that was initially met with a simple "I'm sorry." The traditional response. So I continued to talk about this product we used and then bam, she started crying and apologizing. She has three kids and cannot imagine... I know. It's best if you don't imagine this scenario. Trust me. I didn't know how else to respond other than some stale platitudes.

"It's been a rough year."
"Thank you."
"We miss her terribly."

UGH. We eventually moved on but it was just one of those tough moments. Meeting new people is hard.