R E S P E C T

Aretha Franklin had it right didn't she.....

'.....What you want
Baby, I got
What you need
Do you know I got it?
All I'm askin'
Is for a little respect.......
.........R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me......'

I had been talking with Mr Overconfidence in the last few days.  He started off mildly enough but not long after we made the decision to meet, his comments got to be a bit much.  Seeing that I didn't owe him anything, I decided to cancel the outing. 

Experience from the file (yes that file) located up there (yes there) tells me that when a man starts off that way, that he is looking to move fast.  Very fast.  'I've had a long day and I'm aching, are you good at massages'? Or again  'I can't sleep, there is a lot to be said for being rocked to sleep', and another one,  'my heart rate increases 20 beats per minute when I talk to you'.  

I don't know about you, but crap like that makes my skin crawl.  Why do some people start off perfectly nice and then slither out from under their rock?  Thankfully, he showed his true colours pretty quickly.  In fact, I didn't even have to meet him.....   What is it in some people that make them think that they don't have to respect you? 

The definition of respect from Dictionary.com is as follows : '.....

esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.......'

Mr Overconfidence didn't start off this bad (or I would not have set a time to meet with him) but from the minute he knew we were meeting, the filters disappeared in his head and the thoughts crossed over through his mouth.  This in turn made me feel very uncomfortable and I therefore cancelled the meeting. 

He is a part of an increasingly common breed, someone who lacks respect.  If you can't respect the other person, you also can't respect yourself.  Mr Overconfidence had no chance with this Self-Respecting Self-Sufficient Woman! 

After meeting the quiet yet respectful Mr Silver the other day, I met Mr Loner the next day.  He is a nice man, 42 years old (yes, a younger man!) and we had a good evening of talking about this and that.  We don't have too much in common.  He is a self-proclaimed home body that states that he needs his time alone....His exact words were 'I need my time alone very often'.   
 
So.....hmmmm, well, what do I say to that?    I'm thinking that even though it's ok to be a home body, for him to tell me that he needs time alone 'very often' the first time we meet is probably not a good sign.  Of course, I need my time alone also, we all do and it is very important, but it's not the first thing that comes to mind when I meet a potential partner.....I'm thinking that Mr Loner and I are probably not a good match.  No brick wall needed there! HA! 

Mr Loner had a boyish charm to him though, he was respectful to me at all levels.  Good for Mr Loner!  Hopefully he will meet his Mrs Loner one day ;)

I met someone else tonight.  Mr Stinker!  I don't know where to begin.   He STANK!  How can you go and meet someone at a book store and STINK!  Take a shower, brush your teeth, shave, put on deodorant, wash your hair, change your clothes and RESPECT yourself enough to be presentable!  I browsed the books and Mr Stinker followed me around, I was walking fast to avoid him being too close to me. I stayed ahead of him because goodness forbid that I end up down wind from him!! This may have been my worst meeting on record (well, top 5, I've had some pretty bad ones - refer to my other entries). 

Now that I think about it, it may have been a pretty funny scene for someone watching us.  I've never walked a book store so fast in my life!  And he kept on following me!  AHHHHHH!!

So I meet another Mr tomorrow.  I haven't named him yet.  We have been talking for a few months actually but we have never been able to meet.  I'm thinking that this is not a good sign.  He has young children and yes, the bells are already ringing on that.  I respect him very much for being a father that is present in his young children's lives though.  They are his priority and just for that, he deserves tons of respect! 

After this meeting with the yet unnamed Mr, I'm taking a break again.  The pictures have been turned off the profile.  I'm tired of going out and I'm getting discouraged again.  I respect myself enough to not bring myself down over this.  I also respect myself enough to not settle for just anyone.  Lots to be said for self-respect....

Some synonyms of respect are :  appreciation, consideration, dignity, esteem, recognition. 

I'm proud to say that I appreciate myself, I'm considerate towards my needs, I have dignity, self-esteem and I recognize my limitations and more importantly I respect them.  Needless to say that I think that I respect everyone around me.  Again, one goes hand in hand, you can't respect others if you don't respect yourself.

Now to find someone that holds these qualities for himself and for me....

Signed, respectfully yours,

SSW :)


I leave you with Aretha Franklin's song RESPECT!