Basic Etiquette

In one month, I will have a 1 year-old and an almost 2 year-old.... in a little over a month, we will be celebrating a joint birthday party for my tootin' toddlers. Today I finished making all the invitations and they will be promptly sent out this upcoming week. The theme...well that's a surprise...but I will give a hint: don't veg around your house all day :). Why do I bring all this up?

WELL, there are a few things that really bug me in life.... I mean these things really, really, really BUG me... and it all starts with how a person was raised. That's right, I'm talking about proper etiquette to life. I'm talking daily activities, special events, how-to's when it comes to livin' like we were makin' our grandparents proud.

Maybe I was born in the wrong decade... I've taken a facebook test that says I'm a 50's girl. It fits me... it states: "you are a very wholesome person dedicated to your morals, values, and reputation. You have strong convictions and stand by them. Building solid family and friend relationships is important to you. You like traditional roles of men and women and find it in your natural tendency to fall into those roles. You enjoy the latest music, movies and other recreational fun with your friends and family alike. Although conservative in nature, you also like to be up on the latests and greatest. You are a classic American, who is hard-working and a quality friend to have. " Spot on facebook quiz, spot on.

This being said, I am a strong individual who does not enjoy others neglecting proper manners and etiquette to certain things...basic things like: saying please and thank you when asking for assistance; taking off shoes when entering a home (this is not a prairie hut, this is a HOUSE); forgetting manners at the table (please just use a napkin, so there aren't crumbs everywhere, including your shirt), or the major basic: men holding the door open for women. I think these things are pretty basic; is there really some need to instruct a teen, or even adult in this instances?


However, then we have the individuals who not only do not know these basic manner understandings, they also lack basic etiquette understandings... understandings such as:
when scheduling and notifying people about special events, individuals should give more than a 1 week notice. Typically for a party, invitations should be sent out at least 2-4 weeks prior to the event. Other typical etiquette understandings can include: limited use of cell phone use in a social event (oh teens, how I pray they learn this), when eating, it is MOST important to close your mouth and NOT talk with it full of food (no one wants see-food); when a person is new to the situation, the spouse/significant other NEEDS to introduce their partner (OH what a pet peeve!); OR when given a gift, the acquired giver should be thanked (and not slandered about how the person might not like it because it wasn't a gift card).

I bring this up for two reasons... A. it's been building up for a long time to make a post, especially if any of my readers don't know these understandings... and B. to state that it's never too early to teach proper manners and etiquette. Currently my almost 2 year-old knows "Please!" when she wants something and "Tanks" for thanking after being given something. I really think it's the mother's job to teach these understandings, but if your momma hasn't taught you, take it from this new Mom. :)

God Bless