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" The other day while in my car at a stop light, the light turned green and the minivan in front of me just sat there. And sat there. And sat there. Finally, I gave a very quiet double-honk on my horn (the friendly kind) and the elderly woman in front of me slowly reached her arm out the window and extended her wrinkly middle finger into the air. And, you know what? I got my feelings hurt! Boo hoo. Does it bug you, too, when someone flips you off?**** I know that story might make me sound like a total wimp. Let me assure you, I endured 26 hours of back-breaking childbirth without pain medication. I am not a wimp. But I am sensitive, and I&amp;#x27;m not shy about admitting that. It&amp;#x27;s just me! Yet I am always so shocked at how it gets under my skin when a total stranger lashes out at me for no legitimate reason--whether it&amp;#x27;s in the car, on the street, or in some other setting. No fun! I liked what Huffington Post bloggers Ed and Deb Shapiro had to say recently about dealing with meanies (you may have heard a rendition of this before--but it&amp;#x27;s a good reminder, I think): &amp;quot;We have personally found the best way to deal with rudeness is to respond or think of the person with kindness. ... Kindness enables us to see the person for who they are without our having to take it on. So they want to be rude, fine! Let them be rude. It makes them happy! To the person who throws us a finger when driving, we wish them well and hope they live a long time! Kindness is saying I respect myself and therefore I respect you; I care about myself and I care about you. You can be as rude as you want, but I choose to respond with kindness.&amp;quot; So, next time someone flips me the bird, I&amp;#x27;m going to smile and wave--at least I&amp;#x27;ll try to. I don&amp;#x27;t like how it feels to get angry back--plus, my kids get scared when I honk my horn. What about you? Does it hurt your feelings a little when someone randomly yells at you, flips you off, etc.? More from Vitamin G: *Ever had a really bad day? Read about my worst--and yet comical--day. Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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