Can you step back a little? You're invading my personal space. Thanks.
You know when someone you either don't know or maybe know and get the heeby-jeebies around gets a little too close up to your grille? Yeah, I had that this morning.
I was dealing with a client who did not seem to understand the invisible boundaries we sometimes have. He was foreign, I won't say the origin lest I insult someone unintentionally (and ALL my insults are intentional, believe you me!), and his idea of personal space and barriers didn't quite gel with mine.
I shook his hand in greeting and he held my hand a little too long. Creep factor #1. He also leaned in when he spoke, his head coming toward me and his breath moving in for the kill. Creep factor #2, Hygiene factor #1. (If I was rude or intentionally insulting, I could have recommended a dental visit to treat that halitosis, but I kept my mouth shut) I leaned back slightly, a subtle hint that I was not comfortable with his closeness, but he ignored any physical signs short of a bullhorn announcing his invasion of my personal boundaries or at least acted like he had no idea he was weirding me out.
I have a big issue with personal space. If I do not invite you in it, you are, in essence, trespassing. I have made myself clear in the past if I thought someone was standing too close to me by way of the stink eye or an obvious move on my behalf to open some breathing room. It's not that I'm being rude.Or maybe I am. I just do not like being touched by someone who really has no reason to be touching me in the first place. And by this, I don't mean an accidental brush of the shoulders as one passes another one by. I mean, "Gee, sir, I don't believe we've met. Why is your hand on my shoulder??"
I'm pretty sure I am the reason as to why Sprite is so conscious about her personal space. She has big issues when someone is too close to her, even if that someone is her daddy or me. She is known to push hands away and even push other kids over if she thinks they're leaning in too close or they're taking away from her perfect view of the scenery. ( Can you move? I can see the teeter-totter, but you're also in the picture and it's distracting. Thanks!)
It now makes sense when I remember the way she acted before she even came out. While in the womb, I was going to the OBGyn 3 times a week and getting frequent 4D ultrasounds since my amniotic fluid was high.
I was measuring big around week 34, and my doctor had me repeat a glucose test for gestational diabetes just in case they had missed something. I passed. (Yay, me.) Then, I was sent in for non-stress tests in which Sprite was taking full advantage of the situation to hold everyone up. On one memorable occasion, I spent 2 hours hooked up to a monitor to measure her kicks and she would either kick away from the area where the nurse originally found her, or choose to fall asleep and not move at all. Many other patients were held up completely because of me. By the time I was brought in for the C-section, they were calling her the "little pisher" and predicting she would be over 9 lbs. She came out at 7 lbs, 13 oz. She also came out butt first, which makes even more sense, considering her personality.
So that's why the doctors were scratching their heads with us. It had nothing to do with a medical condition or pregnancy problem. She was letting me know that I was intruding on her personal space and decided to increase the amniotic fluid to her comfort level. She just didn't want to be crowded.
We're trying to teach her to be a little more patient with others and not so pissy when she wants her space. It's a big world, after all. There's plenty of breathing room for everyone, even if some need the hint more than others.
So, if I happen to move away from you, please don't make it personal. I already did. And if I happen to offer you a mint right after that, THEN you can make it personal.
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