With all that’s going on in the country, on TV, heck our town meeting right here in Mahoosuc Mills was louder and more mean spirited than ever before, it seems like we’ve forgotten some basic things we were taught as a kid. What happened to common courtesy?
Good manners were drilled into me by my parents. There’s no getting around it. Not that I’d want to. Being polite is a good thing, and has served me well over the years.
It was hard getting the hang of it at first, though. In our house, you had to say “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” End of story. There was none of this, “Now what do you say?” kind of thing. My parents had their own method for showing my sister, Irene, and me how it’s done.
“Pass the potatoes,” I’d say at the dinner table, and my parents would act like they didn’t hear me.
“Pass the potatoes,” I’d repeat, a little louder. Still no response.
“Dad, pass the potatoes!”
Silence.
Then the penny drops.
“Please?
“Here you go, Sweetie,” Dad says, passing the potatoes.
“Thank you!” You had to follow up with that, or the potatoes disappeared to the other side of the table again.
“You’re welcome.”
Charlie was raised the same way. Oh, he was always polite, holding the door open for me, like a gentleman. Still does.
To this day, we say please and thank you to each other, not just for the big things, but for the smallest things, too.
“Thanks for mowing the lawn, Charlie.”
“Ida, please pass me that delightful little Mrs. Claus salt shaker you got down to the Christmas Tree Shop.” (Well, I embellished that one a little, but you get the idea.)
Saying please and thank you is a sign of respect, which, in my opinion, is one of the most important things in a relationship. It lets your mate know you see all he or she is doing and appreciate it.
This doesn’t just apply to marriage, folks. It applies to life. And it’s bipartisan.
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: The Power of Please and Thank You
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Upcoming: April 26- Down to the A&P, The Dance Hall, 2:00pm, Kittery, ME
“80 minutes of nonstop laughter.”