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My social-awareness is on the high end of the scale.

I’ve had many people, mostly women, not like me and try to take advantage of my real love for other people and genuine desire to be kind and loving. I think it was almost always based on envy, although much of the time if they’d walked a minute in my shoes they would have torn them off and run to the more pleasant hot coal bed. :-)

I noticed that these types who were still in my life (for one reason or another - usually family or in a group of friends) when I married nine years ago actually backed off. I know that for some of those in my family, it was because they are intimidated by my husband because he’s a very successful college-educated engineer. It was interesting to see this happen.

I’d guess that your education and professional success probably kept most of these folks at bay and, additionally, your lack of social awareness kept you unaware of the usually subtle actions of these types. That’s a blessing!

I realize that my experience has been pretty extreme and that’s why, at the encouragement of those who know me best, I’m writing about it. You realize that things around you are bizarre when a dozen or so normal, successful, sane (well, that’s questionable! ;-) people keep telling you to write your story! Lol!

(Just the other day my husband and I watched “The Heiress” with Olivia de Havilland and when it was over he looked at me and said, “I know why you like that movie! She’s you!”)

:-)