… I had a similar experience happen recently .. a man was at the I Am Herd event and I asked him to help a volunteer move a couch for me to set up – He said, “well it all depends on how pretty you are and that he would if I paid him with a hug” … once upon a time my knee jerk reaction would have been to be super sweet and go along with it – you know, because I did not want to ‘hurt his feelings’ or be ‘disrespectful’. … but as I look over my shoulder at my 5 year old daughter, with her bright blue eyes and long eye lashes …. it reminds me that allowing yourself to play into that sort of behavior is not only uncalled for, it is very disrespectful to yourself .. and can set you up to be disrespected even more – I was rather proud as I heard myself say solidly … “No, I don’t pay with hugs, but I will be kind to you” … and yes, he picked up the couch anyway …

He probably saw nothing wrong with it at all – heck he may have thought I would ‘like’ it … but having two beautiful daughters sure puts things into perspective … being respectful has nothing to do with allowing yourself to be talked to in an inappropriate way. I have two gorgeous daughters watching how I handle myself in this world … I will not go around offering hugs as payment for anything, because I sure do not want them to.

-MMJ I AM HERD