Goodbye to JoAnne

 

    

JoAnne Peterson was the building manager of the seniors subsidized housing I moved into when I was very vulnerable. Everyone who moves is vulnerable. The stress level is at the top of the charts. Usually there is a lot of loss and grieving as well.

    She was warm & professional showing me the options like any property manager. I allowed her to pick a building. apartment and parking spot for me and my disability, choosing to trust her obvious expertise. It was the pandemic and there was lots of choices.

    So, she was adequate and effective in that aspect of meeting my needs for slightly disabled accommodation. But, during the entire interview she complained about her employer. She hasn’t stopped for the four years I have been here. It became obvious that she was using the residents to stir up complaints. It was an obsession. I told her and others on her resident team that I’m a non-combatant, here to live in peace and make my art, recover from a stroke and improve my mental health.

    So, this person pretending to be my friend for her purposes dumped me, as did her team of residents, some becoming actively hostile.

    Eventually the management company changed and JoAnne was laid off. I had told JoAnne that now we could have a conversation that wasn’t about her employer. She continued to complain obsessively. We all have health issues, this was hers. It’s a relief not to be around it anymore.

 update: Thinking about JoAnne and comparing her to my narcissist mother this morning. How every once in a while she would throw you a bone to keep loyalty and keep you hanging on. My parking for example or my corner apartment, larger with nice windows. To keep you paying attention and anxious about losing it, always talking about how the management was unreliable. How I felt relief when she wasn’t here.

I’ve been manipulated with Fear, Obligation and Guilt.