Welcome Mat

A neighbor has a cute mat in front of his front door. It says, "LEAVE." It made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it, and it still brings a smile to my face as I walk by his place.

I recently was called a name. It's the word used to refer to a female dog. Now maybe people say it behind my back, but it was the first time in many years that I had it said to my face. I was a fairly feisty young woman, then I became much less assertive to the point where I was like a doormat. Now you can be a doormat if you want, but don't be surprised when people step on you. In the past year or two, I have taken my life in a direction that has rekindled my previous fire. It was the fact that I had drawn a very hard line, a clear boundary, that caused this person to use that particular term on me. It's used specifically for women. Men are expected to be tough, but when a woman is, she gets called a name.

The person who used that term on me apologized soon afterwards, but what I took away from the encounter was a happy revelation. I'm not a doormat anymore.

Susan