A Foot In The Mouth

Me and my big mouth. I must remember:

1. To sugarcoat my blatantly blunt and direct remarks


2. That not everyone can take my directness


3. That some people are just very, very sensitive


4. That I can be insanely insensitive


5. To just keep my big mouth shut?

Topics that should be avoided:

1. Weight


2. Smoking


3. Age


4. Any negativity in all these areas and others (basically, I have to remember my golden rule, which I tend to conveniently forget: if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all)

I should know better, since I’ve lived with two hypersensitive people in my family: my sister and my father. (Hey, it’s not just me! Go ask my mom)! However, experience in this instance doesn’t seem to have been a very good teacher. I still go around blurting out painfully direct opinions and observations, apparently with no regard for the other person’s feelings.

I’ve always wondered if I’d survive in the corporate world, and something tells me I’d die a very quick and probably painful death even before I step foot up the third rung on the ladder.

Thank goodness I have friends like Sam to knock me back on my butt when I’ve overstepped my bounds. In no uncertain terms it’s made clear that my mouth has gone too far. Who could mistake the suddenly frigid and icy air that descends upon all conversation? The curt replies. And then the line, “I don’t want to talk about it!” Oops. Too late. Sigh, the big mouth strikes again.

Luckily for my sensitive friends and family, I’m thick skinned enough that I don’t go wailing and moping after a particularly thorny episode. I tell myself I should know better. Then I keep my big mouth shut. If I remember to apologise, I will. And then a few months or so down the line, I probably blurt out something else that’s painful and the whole process starts again.

Unfortunately for them, the hide can be quite thick. And most people don’t have such thick hides.