R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I have found that many people have many definitions of the word RESPECT.  Of what it means to give it, have it, earn it, how to loose it, learn it, keep it, etc.

And it makes me a bit uneasy, frankly.  I think because I don't know how I genuinely and honestly define it in my daily life.

Okay so I'm going to give it a try:

Respect, to me, means being decent.  It means believing in another person (through good and bad) and knowing that person does or tries their hardest to do the same thing for you.  Decency. It means that someone you hold values in (whatever your values may be) keeps those values and sometimes even earns that "gold star" in holding said values high above the others.  It means not having to always worry. I like to think of someone I respect kind of like a hero. Someone who you can admire, fear a bit, laugh with, cry on, and understand.

My mother, for example, is someone I hold in such high regards that I call her my hero and mentor and someone who I hold the utmost respect for.  And, in my eyes, this is why:

1) She's selfless-she will give anyone the shirt off of her back if she knows it will bring comfort and joy into their life and she doesn't think a thing abour it once it's gone.  She will never pine for that metaphorical shirt ever again and I appreciate and value that she holds a no regrets mentality when it comes to that selflessness.
2) She takes pride both in her self and her life.  She has days where complaining happens but I'd wager 99% of the time she takes what she's given and what she's made and makes the very best of what she has with the time she's got.
3) She feels the same way about me.  It sounds vain, but it's not meant to be.  She holds me in high regard and helps me see self-worth and happiness when sometimes I'm blinded. She makes me feel like I am someone who deserves respect and have thus so earned it in the grand scheme of things and in my personal life.

So, my question to you dear followers is this, and is much needed in helping me rid of my uneasiness:

How do you define respect?