Ladies, when the big bad wolf comes knock, knock, knocking at your door, don’t open it.  Don’t invite him into your home.  Don’t make him dinner.  Don’t have sex with him.  Don’t marry him.  Don’t birth his babies.

Katie, dear, bar the door!

This is the wisdom I wish someone had timely imparted to me.  Respect yourself.  Cherish yourself.  Honor yourself.  You are worthy of being treated like you are precious and wonderful.  An empress.  A goddess.  A queen.

Any “man” who claims you aren’t worthy of him isn’t worthy of you or your love.  Shut the damned door against this insidious abuse.  Don’t welcome this manipulation into your bed or your heart.

Make love the old-fashioned way.  Make him earn it.

Mothers, we need to teach our sons, grandsons, and nephews to respect and cherish women.  When we teach young men that their penis is a ticket to entitlement, we aren’t doing them any favors.  In fact, we are sentencing them to a lifetime of misery.

Men are the beneficiaries of marriage.  They all need to learn that a happy wife is indeed a happy life.

It’s International Women’s Month.  How about if we all pledge to honor and respect the women in our lives.  Let’s start with the woman we see every day in the mirror.