I always tell my boys to be honest. Then they point and say "Mommy, look at the fat lady with the cute dog!" and I hush them and scurry away thoroughly embarrassed.
I have always been much too honest. A friend once told me that using the words, "Not to hurt your feelings" was a sign of lying. It means that people really do want to hurt your feelings. But that isn't true for me. If I say something like that, I am just covering my ass. I know I don't want to hurt your feelings but I also know that whatever I am about to say probably will hurt your feelings. I can control it more if you are a stranger, but if you are my friend, I will probably hurt your feelings a couple times. I think that makes me a good friend though. Would you want your friend to lie to you?
It's been a problem since I was just a child. I always say what I am thinking before I think about what I am saying. So, after an unfortunate incident when I was 22, I took up a new philosophy so to speak. "Some things are better left unsaid". But this didn't work for me either. My husband and I used to fight terribly! He would ask me something, it could be anything, and I would think about what my answer was going to be and how it would make him feel. If it could be conceived as hurtful, I would just reply, "Some things are better left unsaid". But then my husband would follow me around demanding to know what the hell was so bad that I wouldn't tell him. I would refuse. After a few hours, we would fight and make up, and then he would again ask me what I didn't want to say. I would tell him and he would get mad! Damn it! Didn't I warn him ahead of time?
So I gave lying a shot. But I don't believe in "white lies". If you're going to lie, better to just make it a whopper. A lie is a lie, after all. Better to at least make sure it is a good one. The problem with this is if I told a big lie, people thought I was being wise. I really wasn't! I was just trying to stay out of trouble with my big mouth, and it clearly back-fired again. And then I had to keep up with the lies. I had to remember that I told Suzy her new hairdo was "just awesome", so I didn't accidentally mention the giant bald spot on the back of her head the next time I saw her. Of course, that would be fine if I thought before I spoke. But alas, I do not. So the next time I saw Suzy, I would inevitably ask her how in the world she could sleep right through her 4 year old cutting a bald spot into her head.
So it seems honesty really is the best policy. Now-a-days, I just stick to telling people what I am thinking. I don't have a very big friends network, but those who have befriended me, love me just the way I am. And those who haven't befriended me? Well, I totally understand why.
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