I was bitten by a dog once.

A long time ago.

I turned 13 years old during that summer and lived on a street where a neighbor had a Doberman Pinscher.

This was back in the mid-70’s when Doberman’s were really popular as a guardian and protection breed.

The Smith’s had a beautiful female named Lacy who was tall and majestic and looked like a shiny Pony.

Whenever I walked past the Smith’s house, she would run to the edge of the yard and stop just long enough to sniff me and let me me rub her head.   She was protecting “her territory”.  It was my guess that she was “allowing” me to continue down the street, because she “knew” me.

In July, Lacy gave birth to a litter of 4 puppies. Out of those 4, was one lone male pup whom they decided to keep.  He was the runt of the litter and I don’t think the Smith’s really expected him to survive long.

… But, he fooled everyone and quickly, he grew to almost twice the size of Lacy. Just as any Mother would be, Lacy was very protective of her “little” pup.

For hours on end, I used to sit at my bedroom window and watch Lacy and that male puppy play in the yard.

I noticed that somehow, even though the Smith’s yard was not fenced, Lacy managed to figure out the property limits and she knew just how far the two of them could wander without getting into trouble.  In essence, Lacy had set her own Invisible Fence/Boundary for herself and her pup.

When strangers approached her Boundary line, Lacy would let out a warning bark.  The Bark was meant not only to tell strangers to “Beware of Dog” but also to warn her pup of impending “Danger”.

Everytime her pup got close to the sidewalk or the edge of the driveway,  Lacy would run over and nip him at the back of his hind legs to remind him to “stay close”.

Funny… I thought I “knew” Lacy very well, but apparently, I didn’t.

One Saturday afternoon as I was walking home from the Bowling Alley, I saw Lacy and her pup playing in the front yard.

The Smith’s and their children were no where in sight.

As I approached the yard, Lacy let out her Bark.  I kept walking.  Her pup ran closer.  Finally, as Lacy realized that I was getting “too close”, she ran and cut the distance between me and her pup.  She hurried to nip his hind leg and then {for good measure} turned an bit a chunk out of my thigh.

Before I knew it, I was down and both Lacy and her pup were back sitting on the front step of their house just as though nothing had happened.

****

Many years passed before I realized that THAT experience proved to be a lesson in Boundaries.

Boundaries.

We set limits, guidelines, and rules for how we associate with the world around us. Our friends, families, and aquaintences, even strangers are expected to understand and obey the Boundries that we place around ourselves.

Unfortunately, sometimes our Boundries are not clear to everyone. Nor do they remain in place ~ Often times, we lose sight of the line all together.  The invisible lines – Boundary – that we draw in the sand gets erased, yet we still expect it to be seen and obeyed by the people with whom we come in contact.

Social Media is interesting… Where are the Boundaries?

Many people use Social Media as a way to express themselves and often do so without realizing that they have opened their life for EVERYONE to see.

We say things and portray ourselves in ways that we would never consider if we were not sitting behind a keyboard… Then, when an acquaintance crosses the line or replies with something deemed inappropriate = All Hell Breaks Loose.

We classify a list of 2500+ people as our “friends”, yet we get Mad and/or Angry when they act too friendly.

In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to separate Social Media from True Life.

We can not be one person on our facebook page and another person at work or on our resume. It’s impossible.

Lacy kept sight of her Boundary at all times.  She knew where it was and she protected it against friend and foe.  She made certain that everyone around her knew just where it was, too.

When we blur or erase our own personal Boundaries, how can we expect others to know where the line is drawn?

As defined in Wikipedia:

Personal boundaries – Guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits.  They are built out of a mix of beliefs, opinions, attitudes, past experiences and social learning.  Personal boundaries define you as an individual, outlining your likes and dislikes, and setting the distances you allow others to approach.  They include physical, mental, psychological and spiritual boundaries, involving beliefs, emotions, intuitions and self-esteem.