November 03, 2011

Maybe I Overreact

So today I leave work just as a storm is brewing.  A long day, with an out of office meeting  (read: real, grown-up, office clothes) after a trying morning with a sassy 2 year old.  Ya know, another day as a working Mom.  I pick up A from daycare and we are on our way home.  We drive the 10 minutes or so and turn into our neighborhood.  We live right around the corner from a small park.  This park is used by many people everyday.  Tonight there was a soccer team playing in the drizzle of the impending storm.  As I turned the corner to go around the park, there were 3 large SUVs lined across the road as if talking to each other.  I slowed down to a stop expecting the right most vehicle to move forward so I could pull through and get on my way.  I sat there for a bit and nobody moved.  I rolled forward and still, nobody moved.  I sighed heavily, revved my engine a bit and squeezed by (almost on the sidewalk of the wrong side of the street), very frustrated.  I got home, took a deep breath and went about my night.
Now, it is 5 hours later and it is still on my mind.  Those 3 moms were sitting in their cars while there daughters' were playing soccer.  I get that it was drizzling outside, not the most appealing to sit out in your chair, watching soccer.  That isn't what frustrates me.  It is the lack of common courtesy extended to each other.  They saw that I was there and they didn't move to let me by.  What kind of example is that setting?  It extends to many parts of our everyday lives.  There is the man that walks in front of you into a store and doesn't hold the door.  The innocent smile I give a stranger on the street and the scowl I get in return.  I guess it all comes back to the Golden Rule.  Just treat others the way you would like to be treated. 
This really has me thinking about my children as well.  How do I go about teaching them this important life lesson on a daily basis?  My husband and I do our very best to convey common (and not so common) courtesies each day.  I saw a compelling list on Pinterest today listing 25 "rules" to teach children.  Many of them are the very things I am talking about, pleases and thank yous, asking how others are, offering help to adults, cover your mouth when you sneeze, do not curse, etc.  These are the abstract ideas that I find most challenging as a parent.  To convey these mannerisms to a 2 and 5 year old is difficult.  The thought I have put into it has brought me to realize we just need to live these ideals daily.   
So I guess I might have taken this small incident and gotten a little too upset about it.  I may have overreacted a tad bit.  The line of thought it has brought me to tonight has been worth it.  I hope to raise a young man that opens opens and holds doors for anyone behind him.  I also hope to raise a young lady that says please and thank you at every occasion.   

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A-men!
Don't you find that it's easier to pick out a well-mannered kid anymore from the throngs of barbarians with total disregard? That's sad.