Photo by CSJ Photography
I found myself saying these words to my husband not too many nights ago: “I don’t care if our boys aren’t the smartest or the funniest, but they will be respectful of others!”
This stemmed from witnessing an attitude emerge in my freshly-turned 7-year-old. I’m not sure if he thinks he’s being funny (he can be quite the character), or cool with his new, nonchalant attitude, but it doesn’t fly with me. After leaving a get-together recently, and after witnessing what I perceived as disrespect, I had him repeat the golden rule to me five times. And I reminded him that if someone treated him in a similar way, he would cry, and then cry some more.
We have two beautiful, smart boys, and they are why we do what we do — work like crazy and run from one thing to another. Usually by Friday afternoon after a hectic week, I miss them so much I can’t wait to get home and spend some uninterrupted time with them.
It happens to be a Friday night as I am writing this, and while the 7-year-old has been playing with his friend, the cuddly 2-year-old sat still with me for a record 30 minutes. I do sometimes take time with them for granted by being on my phone or working from home, but I focus on them when I am with them. These guys are only little once and I, for one, do not want to miss anything, nor do I want to miss an opportunity to encourage and set an example for how they should treat others: look people in the eye, speak clearly, ask others how they are doing, and listen attentively. You never know when a kind word could turn someone’s day around.
Ashley Haeger lives in Collierville and is the mother of two awesome boys, ages 7 and 2.
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