The “I’m going to instantly trust you” mentality is a very female trait. Not all women are that way and, indeed, some men live in that manner. But, in my 50 years on this planet and having grown up around/worked in a male-dominated environment, it’s very clear to me that men have a much greater sense of caution about blindly trusting. (No real surprise here. Have you ever watched America’s Most Wanted or other type shows? 95% of the individuals they’re looking for are men. So, men GET that people often have hidden motives b/c they’re the ones committing most of these crimes).

Bottomline (and you can bank on this): Where you need to keep your eyes peeled are in situations involving money and/or anonymity. LOTS of true colors will be revealed in money situations. And, I virtually guarantee that you will be plenty dissappointed in alot of people if they think they can get away with something anonymously.

I know it’s a cold splash of water in the face but, I’m a reality-based person. Fact is — most women I know have little grasp how often and to what extend they get taken advantage of/ripped off. That was me in my young adult life….I cringe at the memories. But, thankfully, I finally woke up.

The most amazing part of all is often someone tries to alert them to what’s happening and they just blow it off and let themselves get shafted.

Sigh….. c’mon ladies, you deserve better.

My boys played hockey and each year there was an “exchange” with a team from Canada. They would come here for a weekend and in return our boys would stay with a hockey family in Canada. I always allowed the Canadian boys to stay at our house but we would stay in a hotel when our boys went to Canada. Some of our teammates parents thought I was being over-protective. My pediatrician who also had boys who played hockey asked why my boys did not stay with a host family. I explained that I was not comfortable “handing” my boys over to another family who I had never met before. He felt I was depriving them of a wonderful experience. I asked him if he would give his credit card to this family for the weekend. He said “Of course not”. I then said why would you give your child to someone you do not know if you would not trust them with your credit card. he just looked at me and said “Good point’

Unfortunately, in the last 2 years I have had to reevaluate my naturally trusting instincts. I have a 26 year old daughter with Down Syndrome. I have always been very cautious with her in spite of the fact that she speaks very well and is generally very high functioning. I have spent at least 3 evenings a week for nearly 10 years sitting with the father of another girl with Down Syndrome while the girls participated in classes. I liked this gentleman, thought he was a very involved father and generally enjoyed his company. We ate out as a group/once/week. Last year he was convicted and pleaded guilty to 3 counts of viewing and distributing child pornography. His jail time was only 5 months. I still cannot believe that he did this or that he lied to his family for over 3 years ( prosecutors had taken his computer and were watching him and several others in a big sting for over 3 years). I would have NEVER suspected him of any behavior like this in a million years . We have asked that he not come to any classes and he is cooperating but still I will never be quite so trusting.
On another less serious note my Brother who is an eye doctor had a woman who has worked for him for 26 years embezzle money. He felt like she was his sister. Again he never, ever suspected her of any wrong-doing. A newer employee reported that she suspected this woman of stealing money. They involved the police, made copies of bills and after 4 nights of checking were positive she was stealing money. they set up a sting with the police and caught her red handed. It has now been over a year that his has been in the court system and according to the forensic accountant she has stolen at least $750,000.00 in the last 10 years. They finally have a court date in March and the prosecutor is going to try and have her do jail time. But who would have thought that after working for you for 26 years ( much of which she was evidently pocketing money) you would not really know someone.

So need less to say that after these 2 life-altering events I am less trusting than I was and really feel you can never really know some-one else.

Julie,

I am so happy you have come through the last year
so well and are happy again. I saw you on the internet when you were at the CHA show and loved it. I also love your products especially your custom die cuts.

Pam

Julie I am proud to be one of your customers. I tell many people about you BECAUSE you provide items I have not found elsewhere.