I had to work on a very dear neighbour who was always apologising, and when I pointed this out to her her immediate reaction was to apoligise. I just looked at her, and she realised what she had just done. She then started making a conscious effort to no longer apologise, and this set her on the road to self-affirmation. /@Betty

@anglophone I'm sorry that happened to your neighbour. I'm happy she is on a better road. I am also sorry you had to live through that wickedness.

You would fit in quite well in Canada. We could play a round of "Who's Sorry Now".

Must have been brought up Catholic. Me too but after being with an alcoholic I learned there's a fine line between nurturing and enabling and both are fostered by a sense of guilt. I try to reflect before apologizing.

@jackjr Yep, born guilty of things I never did, but those sins needed to be washed away, nevertheless, and assumptions of guilt throughout childhood so much that we had a set time every Saturday to confess all our sins. I'd have to make stuff up, since I honestly didn't have anything worthy of confessing to the pastor who of course knew who we all were by our voices, so why the secrecy? Crazy times. Much happier without all that!

@Julie808 I was lucky in that religion, in our lives, was benign. Nothing ever happened and we were not forced into anything. When we moved to California we attended public school. My dad enrolled us into Sunday school but a friend asked my mom if I could attend a dancing class with him on Sundays and she said yes. She told my dad that I knew all the religious crap (not in those words) and I needed to work on my social skills so I went dancing instead of listening to preaching. When a younger brother told the class where I was going the class laughed and I sure didn't want to show my face in that place again.

@jackjr You probably learned a lot more in dance class about getting along with others, than in Sunday school, with the chiding you received upon choosing to spend your Sundays elsewhere.

@Julie808 I didn't really get any chiding. Mom always had the final say. Funny thing was, the friend dropped out after only a couple of classes but I stayed. I was done with Sunday schools.

You are a wicked wicked woman for using your nationality as an excuse. Apologise at once, I tell you!

@anglophone I am so very sorry that I have offended you. I am sorry your sensibilities are so fragile that an apology is needed for apologizing. I am so very, very sorry my wickedness has made you upset. Sorry for doing that to you. So sorry.

@Betty Ma'am, you make me chuckle!

@anglophone WooHoo!

Or not, if you are Rethuglican.