People are funny

People are funny. And I don't mean "ha ha" funny, I mean they can be ridiculous, intrusive and exasperating. From time to time, people have asked me if I am pregnant. The first couple of times this happened, I got rid of a lot of shirts and never wore the longer flowy shirts again. My response to them was "no. I'm just fat. Thanks." The dialogue to follow was never a sincere apology or even an insincere one. The person usually tried to justify their asking. I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't even ask a woman if she were pregnant even if I was 99% sure that she was. It is just something you don't do. Alas, people still do it.

It hasn't happened to me in a long time, thankfully, but I'm pretty sure my snippiness about the topic made people think. I started responding to people with "since when do pregnant women look like they are harboring a baby anaconda? Last time I checked, the belly should be round and somewhat hard. This, (as I would grab my gut, squeezing it and shaking it a bit) is NOT a baby belly, unless I'm going to give birth to a baby anaconda sometime soon." Yeah, I really did say that. More than once. Not my proudest moments. I tend to have a problem with handling things with an amount of grace that saves me from looking like an a-hole because I get so worked up and let things slide until I can't take it anymore. Character flaw. Or it is the trait of my dad. Maybe both. You decide.

Another "funny" type I encounter are those that don't know what else to say so they say things that come off insincere or condescending. Seriously, the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" rule is a good one to keep in your back pocket. Be sincere. Say what you mean and mean what you say. It works better for everyone involved.

Another "funny" type is the intrusive one. I have a family member that is extremely intrusive and overly opinionated when it comes to topics that are none of his/her business. Things that shouldn't bother me, end up making me feel deflated and angry. Now, I just avoid her and distance myself more and more. Things are definitely a lot easier without people trying to pull you down.

I learned a while ago, but later in life, from an awesome friend to "speak out of love." Meaning, when people tick you off, as much as you want to put them in their place, you should only do so out of love for that person, not out of spite.Now, I admit, I have a hard time with this general rule of thumb, but I can honestly say that it has helped me in my personal life and family relationships because I remind myself to speak out of love for that person instead of anger towards that person. It actually does help if you truly love and care for that person to begin with. I can't help you there, sorry.

There are quite a few people in my life with whom I am close that are negative. Oddly enough, the relationships I have with them are positive and healthy, but their attitudes are negative towards many many many things. Sitting here typing, I can't think of much positive that these people say in a day. Surprisingly, this has not had much of an affect on me. Maybe it is because I am hoping they will "catch on" to my trend and be more positive? I don't know. No, I'm not trying to change them either or make them my mission, but I want to lead by example. Don't get me wrong, you get me on a tirade about receiving the wrong car part or a nasty person trying to bring me down, I WILL unleash. I just try to not be like this every moment of every day.

I saw on a post by my sister in law that my mother in law had told her: Everyday we meet people we want to be like and people we don't want to be like. All that matters at the end of the day when I look in the mirror is that I am who I want to be.

I agree with this post. I think it is great. I do however think that there is always room for improvement. There is always a way to make yourself better. A different way of thinking, a different way of coping, a different way of reacting, a different way to do anything. Another START SMALL task. What can you do?

With that thought, I'm signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you with suggestions of what to name my baby anaconda, until next time...