egnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings

I hear my sister-in-law say to the sales clerk, “thank you for being so nice and polite to me.” It caused me to wonder if the world had turned so sour, we are now thankful for a rare polite encounter.

Just a few moments prior to that, a young woman brushed by my sister-in-law as she struggled with her walker while trying to look at the items in the store. Thankfully, she didn’t make her lose her balance.

That same day, I gave my 86 year old neighbor a nice light blue rug with a flowery design on it. She loved the rug. Although we had paid a few hundred dollars for it, I rejoiced in giving it to her because she was so enthusiastic. “Oh, Honey, it is so beautiful” she would say. When I hauled it across the street, her daughter did not acknowledge my presence but simply said, “I don’t like flowers.” Making sure that I got the message, she said, I’m not a flower person, it just won’t fit in.” I said I had to go home and left that poor 86 year old woman with her ungrateful daughter. What happened to diplomacy? Could she have said, “thanks, but no, thanks” or “what a nice gesture.” How about “hi” or even acknowledging my presence? How about the embarrassment that her mother must be experiencing?

The supermarket is a dangerous place. In fact, when my children were toddlers, I always left them home with their father while I did my shopping. You see women who look so cold and in a hurry that you think they could kill! They could run over little children’s toes like a lawn mower and not even know it.

Pregnancy seems to bring out all kinds of unsolicited advice. Once I was shopping with my very pregnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings a

e.

That same day, I gave my 86 year old neighbor a nice light blue rug with a flowery design on it. She loved the rug. Although we had paid a few hundred dollars for it, I rejoiced in giving it to her because she was so enthusiastic. “Oh, Honey, it is so beautiful” she would say. When I hauled it across the street, her daughter did not acknowledge my presence but simply said, “I don’t like flowers.” Making sure that I got the message, she said, I’m not a flower person, it just won’t fit in.” I said I had to go home and left that poor 86 year old woman with her ungrateful daughter. What happened to diplomacy? Could she have said, “thanks, but no, thanks” or “what a nice gesture.” How about “hi” or even acknowledging my presence? How about the embarrassment that her mother must be experiencing?

The supermarket is a dangerous place. In fact, when my children were toddlers, I always left them home with their father while I did my shopping. You see women who look so cold and in a hurry that you think they could kill! They could run over little children’s toes like a lawn mower and not even know it.

Pregnancy seems to bring out all kinds of unsolicited advice. Once I was shopping with my very pregnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings

aking sure that I got the message, she said, I’m not a flower person, it just won’t fit in.” I said I had to go home and left that poor 86 year old woman with her ungrateful daughter. What happened to diplomacy? Could she have said, “thanks, but no, thanks” or “what a nice gesture.” How about “hi” or even acknowledging my presence? How about the embarrassment that her mother must be experiencing?

The supermarket is a dangerous place. In fact, when my children were toddlers, I always left them home with their father while I did my shopping. You see women who look so cold and in a hurry that you think they could kill! They could run over little children’s toes like a lawn mower and not even know it.

Pregnancy seems to bring out all kinds of unsolicited advice. Once I was shopping with my very pregnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings

The supermarket is a dangerous place. In fact, when my children were toddlers, I always left them home with their father while I did my shopping. You see women who look so cold and in a hurry that you think they could kill! They could run over little children’s toes like a lawn mower and not even know it.

Pregnancy seems to bring out all kinds of unsolicited advice. Once I was shopping with my very pregnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings

egnant daughter around the Christmas Holidays. A woman came up to her and said that my daughter should really be at home. Another, wanted to feel her tummy. OK, I’ll give them a break. Maybe they were concerned. That being said, it really hurt my daughters feelings.

Feelings- - - -we all have them. Are other people responsible for our feelings? Should we try to avoid “hurt feelings?” Feelings are ours. We own them. Even if they are not appropriate or others feel we are being too sensitive, these are our feelings and they cannot be denied.

I don’t specifically remember my parents sitting me down for a “politeness talk” but I watched how they lived their life. I read somewhere that politeness is nothing more than considering other people’s feelings. My parents were most considerate of others and would extend themselves so much for others, while putting themselves last. I remember once, as a young adult, I was visiting my parents. There seemed to be quite a disturbance among one of the neighbors. We heard angry shouting that seemed to get louder. My father walked over and knocked on their door. Instead of complaining about all the noise, he simply asked if there was anything he could do to help. My dad had a way of making a less fortunate person feel rich and an older man feel young. He listened patiently to others without interruption.

Was my father “polite” or did he consider my feelings? You bet he did. My first broken heart broke Daddy’s heart, too. He came to my room, as I was lying down on my bed with tears in his eyes to tell me how sorry he was.

Anyone that came to our house was asked to “please be seated” and then we would serve tea, coffee or whatever was available. That was so that they could FEEL comfortable.

When I grew up and knocked on my neighbor’s door for a social call, I was asked “what can I do for you?” That was the first time I ever heard that expression. It was an obvious way to let me know that she didn’t have time to visit, even though she “popped in”