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.

Thank You Julie @itsallnew2me

I wanted to take a moment to thank one of my readers who also follows me on Twitter. I often tweet about how much Noah loves Max and Ruby. She told me about Max and Ruby stuffed animals and how she found them at her grocery store. I had found them on Amazon but they wanted $7.99 for them plus shipping. I was going to pay for Max since Noah loves him but she alerted me to check the grocery store and where to find him.

I went to the TY website and found out where they sold their products and sure enough they sold them at a grocery store nearby. I went there on Saturday and my heart sang when I went to the floral department and saw Max staring at me. I quickly snatched him up and went to the check out, I paid $5.34 for him including tax. I know that Noah will be really excited to find Max in his Easter basket. So, thank you so much Julie. You are awesome! She also shared with me some really cute Max and Ruby fabric prints.

Thanks again Julie! You helped bring a smile to Noah’s face! I can't wait to give him Max.
Everyone should follow Julie on Twitter @itsallnew2me

Be Thankful!

Today I was on twitter and I saw that a man tweeted about something that a big company did for people in Kenya. I tweeted him back and said how wonderful it was, and he responded with a link with pictures of the trip. I looked at them and my heart sank. The tears started flowing it was so sad. The streets were filled with trash and the people had sores on their feet. The houses were what looked like cardboard shacks. It was devastating to me.

I watch the 700 club a lot so I know what it is like in third world countries. It is so depressing. I find myself not wanting to watch those stories because it is so upsetting.

So I just wanted to remind everyone to be thankful. Be thankful you have a place that keeps you dry when it rains and keeps you warm in the cold. Be thankful for the clean water you drink and bathe in. Be thankful for the food you eat and that you and your family have full bellies. Be thankful that your children can go to the doctor when they are sick even if you don’t have the money to pay for it. You still have the OPTION to go. There are qualified people to take care of us when we are sick. They also can help prevent it. Be thankful for your nice warm bed. Be thankful to your children’s schools and teachers for providing an education for them. Be thankful for all you have.

Sometimes it is hard to focus on what we have vs. what we want. Unfortunately we live in a society where people always want more or better. More Money, More things or Better Cars, Better Electronics or Bigger Houses. Everyone is trying to keep up with the Joneses and trying to have a better status symbol. While you do that you carelessly forget about those little things that sound like no big deal. You know those little things like food, water and shelter? To those people in third world countries we live like KINGS and QUEENS.

Some of them work their fingers to the bone for a week for what we get for minimum wage an hour. Some walk miles for water, not clean water mind you but dirty disease ridden water, it’s wet. Parents are being killed by other people or disease which leaves 12 year old sometimes younger kids to take care of their brothers and sisters because they have no one else to take care of them. There isn’t foster care; there isn’t much help at all. Those children that are now responsible for their siblings, they don’t eat so they can feed the younger kids.

The diseases they get are horrible. They don’t have proper medical care. They don’t have proper protection of the elements. Thousands of people die each day. Sometimes all it takes is $5 dollars worth of medicine to save them and they don’t even have that.

So please remember to BE THANKFUL for what you have vs. what you don’t. After all you have a lot more than some.