Offense

I had an uncomfortable experience two mornings ago.  I was in the garage with the children, loading up the car.  A neighbor and fellow ward member (hereafter to be referred to as Z) I have known since we moved here eight years ago walked by with another woman in our ward (E).  I cheerily called out, "Good morning!" and received an equally cheery response from E.  Z, however, ignored me.  She turned her head and looked in my direction but gave no other response.  It was like we were complete strangers.

We live in a condominium development and have an HOA.  Z was put in as the HOA president in September, and her style of leadership engendered many bad feelings among neighbors.  She has been rigid and nasty, two characteristics that have surprised me considering our past interactions.  Back in November she irritated Kent and he lost his temper with her over the phone (very unusual for my mild-mannered husband).  The following day, before work, he typed out a one page apology which he asked me to deliver.  I went to Z's home that morning and delivered both a verbal as well as the written apology.  I told Z I didn't want there to be unhappy or angry feelings between us that could ruin our friendship.  Z agreed that she didn't want that either.

Things got worse in our neighborhood and in May, the rest of the HOA board voted to remove Z from her position as president.  She was very hurt but Kent and I certainly agreed with the rest of the board that Z needed to be gone for the good of the community.  We were all on edge.  Unfortunately, my conversation with Z back in November has been the last one we've had.  Her family members won't talk to me either.  Z is of the opinion that I wrote an anonymous letter to a board member calling for her resignation, which I did not do.  She is one of my Primary teachers, but will not speak to me or really even look at me during Primary.

I am not sure what I have done, but I have caused offense or hurt.  I need to go and apologize again, and I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me.  I have tried to remain friendly, I have tried to be kind.  I think my offense might be that I am good friends one of the other board members, and with a neighbor who has been on the receiving end of a good deal of the nastiness from Z.  I am going to find a time today to go over and see if I can't talk to Z and make things right.  Or at least better so we can exchange neighborly greetings in the street.  I don't like the thought that I have caused someone grief or given them cause to harbor ill feelings towards me.