Giving A Little Thanks

One thing I am constantly making sure my son does is say thank you. I still remember the first time he said it. We were walking around the neighborhood going to garage sales and we went to a house with two little old ladies. They loved Noah; they were talking to him while I looked around with him. I purchased some southwest buttons from them, I didn’t not want to buy anything because they were really sweet, so when I paid for them I said thank you and then Noah said Thank you as well. He went through a phase where he would say thank you just to say it, it was new to him and he was just around 18 months at the time. I love that my son has manners most of the time. I occasionally have to remind him to say thank you to me. He is really good about saying it at the store or at a restaurant. I grew up saying thank you and please and excuse me and he is growing up the same way.

I am really sick of people that don’t thank people. I am not just talking about when someone gives you a gift which is a definite thank you time, but more like when someone does something nice. I try and hold the door for people, if I am able to. If someone holds it for me I thank them cheerfully. One day I was at the grocery store and one of the ladies in the self service no limit check out line was taking forever. I am not sure if it was because there was a problem with the machine or what was going on. There were a few people in front of me with a cart full each and they moved to another line. I had maybe 10 items. Right before it was my turn, I turned to one of the people who was in front of me before and said, “Would you like your spot back?” fully aware that they had a full cart. I knew they were there before me and I would be done before them. The guy looked at me like I had 3 heads and mumbled no. I figured it was their turn to go.

I wish people would use more manners. It’s not that hard to thank someone for whatever reason. It doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t take any effort. It could really brighten someone’s day.