I just confronted a guy in my front yard, as his dog was peeing on my freshly planted flowers.
"Please don't let your dog pee on my flowers" i said, before i realized what i was saying. He was very embarassed and apologized.
I told him that his dog could go anywhere in the yard, i didn't care, but i love my flowers and dogs' pee kills them. I was as nice as i could be about it, so i hope he doesn't think i'm being a "B".
I do get amazingly P.O-ed when i see my dead flowers with pee-splatters on them! Apparently, my front flower bed is attractive as a dog-potty-place, because it has happened often.
Also, i just planted these pansies last week....and they looked beautiful. They make me smile when i look out my window.
I don't think i would've had the nerve to do that in my pre-cancer days.
Monday, November 05, 2007
i can't believe i just did this:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
As long as you were nice about it (which I have no doubt you were) it is fine to ask for what you want.
I find it interesting that you worry that this guy thinks you are a B and also that you probably wouldn't have confronted him pre-cancer.
I guess in my mind I always see you as the woman who's made big decisions like having a child; running a roller derby org.; coming up with your own businesses such as "fingers and lips" and your own whistling telegram service...the list goes on and on.
If that guy thinks you are a B I say, "so what." At least he can sleep at night not having a clue there was a possibility that a deranged roller derby girl could have ran out of her house and body slammed him into a tree.
yeah, REALLY! thanks gals...i think i just felt bad about the look he had on his blushing, apologetic face when he left. his face was so red that i could see it from across the street, seriously. i didn't want to embarass the guy, but yes, i was nice about it and it felt good to be upfront.
in the past, despite all those accomplishments thank you ZAY, i have been plagued with self-doubts and a touch of passiveness-to-a-fault. I now find both to be a monumental waste of time.
thanks for the reassurance, gals!
I read once somewhere that when women ask for what they want, they are labeled as bitches. When men ask for what they want, they are just being direct and efficient. Nice double standard! One thing Matt and I have talked about a lot is that being assertive doesn't mean being mean. When I was young, I equated people who had to remind me of the rules with being in trouble. It is too bad the guy was so embarrassed, but that was a function of HIM realizing he wasn't paying attention--he knew better! Stand up for your flowers and stand up for yourself, I say. I am proud of you and know personally how difficult this can be, but so amazingly satisfying. Geez MaryT, get your own blog! Sorry! :)
YOU GO GIRL!!
YES MRT! i am coming from the same place; in fact, i'm trying real hard to teach my lil'un about "the Rules" not being a bad thing, and the Enforcers aren't mad when he's reminded about them. YES, i feel so much better because, even though i knew that its ok to be assertive, its still a new-ish feeling to actually do it!
I thought what you did was pretty mild. The last time I caught someone leaving "goodies" on my lawn I put up a barbed wire fence. needless to sat it never happened again; because they probably think I am insane.
MRT2!
i thought about you after i did this...and realized that its important to deal with what's bothering us, no matter how that is. the important thing is that we deal with it, rather than let it bother us. i really liked hearing about your property-line-claiming tactics...i aspire to have that kind of nerve! you're a crazy inspiration to confrontationally-challenged-wimps everywhere!
It is healthy to assert yourself, and by planting flowering plants in your yard and not fencing it in, you have worked to improve the aesthetic of your neighborhood. So not only were you protecting the defenseless flowers, your investment, and your property, you were also fighting to keep your street pretty which probably improves the moral of everyone in that area. Pretty noble!
Maybe you should put a fake fire hydrant in your yard and get your dog to get the trend started to protect the flowers when you aren't there.
Thank you so much for letting me borrow your crutches! I had to lower them a bit, but life is much easier now that my hopping foot has help. THanks!
Post a Comment