Et Tu, Brute?

I've been holding onto a thought that has affected me these past few months, and I think it's time I stopped holding onto it, and let it go.  In addition to our online store, Freddy and I have a traditional 9-5 (well, 8-5 but who's counting?) job—hey, he keeps me calm and they don't mind—what I refer to as my Thoroughly Exhausting 9-5, and it gets tricky, dealing with workplace relationships and stuff like that there. 

Delicacy is not always a virtue on display and that leads me to the thought that has me in a chokehold, to wit, I forget a valuable piece of advice:

When People Show You Who They Are, Pay Attention.

I work with several individuals like that and tend to forget it, and I'm often seemingly too friendly and/or unaware of those who perhaps aren't so enamored of me (say what, now?), but I've begun to rethink my position and remember that there are those who will act one way yet speak another and, once I know this, I need to remember it. I cannot let someone affect me by being themselves.

I was recently looking through Pinterest and found a similar mantra that goes well with that above:

Why do people get upset when you treat them like they treat you? 

I pride myself on being fair and direct, with no patience for beating around bushes or anything that is also exhausting (I have 5 kids, remember?). My patience is short for tomfoolery and can only tolerant insensitivity for so long. I have a big heart but always find that there are those who try to take advantage of me, some continuously try (for real?) ... and I now find that fascinating because I don't actually care about that anymore.  There are plusses to getting older, better and wiser that I appreciate more each day and I'm blessed that God has given me the wisdom to see the difference; not something I did well years ago and I hope those around me can appreciate the time I took to learn these lessons so they don't have to: kids, I'm talking to you ... grandbabies, you, too.

So back to the moral of my story, I don't think I need to say exactly what caused the shifts in my perception of who I deal with during my weekly workdays, just suffice it to say that someone peeked out and all I have to say is:

[_________], your slip is showing.

Hmmmm, I wonder how many folks are thinking, "I wonder if she's talking about me?" Chuckle. "To thine own self be true."