Living a Life of Greatfulness

A little preface...this is not about my children today.  They have been great!  It's dealing with others outside the fam.  And now...on with the show.

You know, I'm so tired of dealing with people who have an entitlement attitude.  You do things for them and they keep wanting more.  There's no thankfulness, there's just a wondering of what is coming next.  (and they want it to be bigger and better)  Because this attitude has metastasized throughout today's society, I find myself wanting to give a manners lesson to children and parents alike.  (or maybe become a hermit...right now it's a toss up)

Let me tell  you what I learned growing up.  
  • When someone gives you something or does something nice for you, you will look them in the eye and say 'thank you'; whether you like what it is or not.  
  • You will write thank you notes.  Your thank you notes are not to be three sentences that restate the same thing.  They should be personal, and if you have to use extra paper to finish the note then you use more paper.
  • You do not complain because what you have is not as good as what someone else has.  If you think your:  phone, iPod, toys, car, etc. are not good enough, I'll be more than happy to take it all away and leave you with nothing.
  • When you have said items above, you will take care of it, or you will not have it.  It's really mine anyway, I'm just allowing you to borrow it.
  • If an adult is acting inappropriately, it is your responsible to lead by example.  You can't fix stupid, but you sure can learn from it.
  • I don't have to fix you a snack, clean up your room, or make your bed; and I'm not going to help you do any of these things if you keep with that bad attitude.

Here are some other things I learned:
  • Society doesn't owe you anything.  You live in the greatest country in the world, spread your wings, work hard, and be someone great.  You have the opportunity, go chase it.
  • Your education is so valuable.  Make the most of it.
  • GET OFF  YOUR CELL PHONE.  You can't form relationships through a 160 characters or liking your bestie's duck face selfie.  (that is another subject for another time.) The youtube video of your latest crush boy band is not going to help you make friends.  Go play, talk, hangout, or something, anything.
I guess the big takeaway is that there is a heart change that needs to happen.  We need to have a heart of gratefulness.  How do we as parents fight this attitude when society is telling them the opposite through everything they see and hear?  The attitude of 'well, yeah, you did this for me today, but what are you going to do for me tomorrow?'  Right now I don't know the answer, I just know something has to be done. 

But right now, I'm going to take a shower.  I'm tired and I smell bad from working out.  I'm going to try to figure out what to feed my crazy kiddos tonight.  I'm going to finish cleaning my house, and doing laundry.  And most importantly, I'm going to be thankful for what my family can do to help others.

Celebrating life!
~ashley

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