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We have a house that is being built across the street from us. The project has been going on for a few months so we have seen contractors come and go. They have started the painting process and I noticed the other day that there were a few cigarette buts in front of my house. The next day there were a few in my driveway and last night as I was coming home with my girls, the painters were leaving and I saw the passenger flick out a cigarette right into the middle of my yard.

My girls saw it and were appalled that they were littering. I was just mad. So I asked my girls to go inside and I told them I was going to go talk to someone. They knew what I was doing and wanted to be right in the middle of it. It was the end of the day, so I was just going over to see if the painters were coming back the next day. They were.

First thing this morning, my oldest asked me what I was going to do about the littering. I explained to her that I was going to go talk to them and explain that it wasn’t appreciated and they should stop. This pleased my 3rd grader to no end. I think it is because we are trying to really teach her what is right and wrong and it is something she deals with every day. It isn’t easy being a 3rd grader. So I knew that me standing up for what is right really meant something to her.

I did wait until after I had taken them to school. I didn’t know these people so I sure didn’t want my girls to see a real brawl. I went over and talked to the head painter. Her response was that they don’t flick cigarettes in peoples yard, just the street. I told her no that I even saw them do it and she could go check out my lawn to prove my point. She just said ok and I left. No brawl.

But now I can tell my daughter what happened so that she can see that sometimes it isn’t easy being an adult either, but that we have to stand up for what we believe in. If not, we just end up with butts in our yard.

A few weeks ago I started thinking about customer service. Personally I always say please and thank you, mostly because it is habit. As children, we are programmed to say it whether we mean it or not. I do it to my children as well. One of the things we always have our girls do when we go out to a restaurant is order for themselves and they say please and thank you. We always get compliments about their manners.

But I started to wonder if they actually understood why they need to use good manners. When I asked them they did and they didn’t. They are young so the true meaning of being thankful is just starting to emerge for them, but I started to examine how my good manners have just become habit.

So two weeks ago I decided to start really thinking about when I thank someone and how I thank someone. I have been amazed at the results. For example, I started really thanking people when I ordered food or thanking them for being quick on my order or just saying I appreciated it. The response has been great. I get genuine smiles. I haven’t had one wrong order. If someone asked me how my day was as part of their spiel, I always said great and how is yours. Two different times I got “Wow, thanks for asking.”

It was a great two weeks and is now part of my everyday. Most importantly, I feel truly thankful. That good to the bone feeling that puts a smile on your face even when you are stuck in traffic. It is a wonderful feeling that I highly recommend.