Manipulation

I have a new friend. Her name is Ashley. She is ten years old, and I first met her the other night when she knocked on my door and asked if I had "anything she could do for money." She's apparently my neighbor from down the street, and she was raising her own funds in order to be able to travel with her older sister to Joplin. I had her lay mulch in my flower beds and paid her a bit of money for it. Only problem is that now she visits me nearly every day to see if I'll pay her to do something or buy something from her. I have to applaud her ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit; however, I'm not growing money trees in the back yard. (Though I'm checking into the possibility of doing that...)

Anyway, whenever I've said "no" the past several days, she makes these big puppy dog eyes and sticks out her bottom lip... almost kind of quivers... just like Dad does when he's begging for brownies. I was just thinking about how that's a form of manipulation, and I'd rather NOT know I'm being manipulated. :) But, it really made me wonder if I use guilt as a manipulative tool. I truly have never intentionally done that, but I definitely let people know what the "desired" response is. Maybe it's just a way of trying to control the situation? I dunno. It's really sickening even to think about. I had a friend once accuse me of being passive-agressive. I don't believe I am (though I could see how he could think that in the given situation), but even if I were... isn't that better than being outright agressive? :) Just kidding. There's certainly a benefit to just being honest. I guess that's what I prefer to be... just plain honest. I'll let people know what I think, and what I'd like for them to do, but ultimately, it's their decision. Maybe I'm a bit too honest in letting them know how it disappoints me when they DON'T do what I was hoping they would do. Ugh. There's no hope, is there?

This seems to be one of the more vulnerable blogs I've written. I pray my family and friends will forgive me any times I may have used guilt or other manipulative tools to control a situation. It's very unbecoming, and I'll do what I can to be more aware of it in the future.