by Dawn R. Babcook

Created on: August 18, 2010

It is definitely not always easy to treat others as you wish to be treated unfortunately.  You can do so but it seems that once the other party steps across the line, whether it be by disrespecting you or someone you love, treating you like you are a nobody or any other number of things that make you feel that you are not respected, appreciated or whatever the case may be, we then tend to treat that other party as they are treating us.

I, as well as many others, were raised to believe that you "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  I have carried that moto with me my entire life and do my very best to follow it wholeheartedly but there are circumstances where you need to take a stand and lay down the law, so to speak.  In one instance that I will tell you about is with my significant others father.  They are from the south and I do realize that things in the south are much different from here in the Midwest, but I do know that they were also raised to have a great deal of respect.  Whenever his father comes to town he continually tells us what we should and shouldn't be doing in our home, tells us how to discipline our children or if they are in a time-out he will go and remove them from it.  He tells us that he will be staying over and sleeping in our home or that he is hungry and when his son tells him he will get him something, his father will say "No, she can get it since women don't mind getting up and doing multiple things".  Well, let me tell you, I had given the man a great deal of respect and space up until this point.  I would make sure that he was treated decently in our home, prepare meals that I knew he could eat due to his food allergies, I would wash his laundry that he would just bring in and drop by my laundry room, and so on.  However, recently my way of thinking with regards to this man has changed.  He is showing me that he has no respect for me and least of all in my home.  I know longer cook meals that he can specifically eat, nor do I do his laundry or cater to him. 

Many of you may think I am being harsh but I was also taught to believe that in order to get respect, you must also give it.  I have given more respect than anyone would have under the circumstances surrounding this man and have received (obviously) no respect in return from him.  This had created a bit of turmoil in our home but has since passed as my significant other has noticed the changes on the behalf of his father and he to believes that I am entitled to the same respect that I have given him throughout the years.

So, as I stated in order to get respect you must give it but you must also always treat others as you would want to be treated.

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