Mamas – you are raising the next gentlemen or tyrants of the world

Dad & Mom

I was thinking about the subject of manners – it is something that I apparently think about a lot because this isn’t my first post on the topic.

While this time I am going to talk about manners and moms, I am going to focus on what moms actually mean to the world as it relates to manners.  I my previous post  If you have manners, thank your mom!, I credited moms with instilling manners without even talking about what a big role they play.

They ARE the manners police.  They ARE why boys become gentlemen or tyrants.

Think about it…  did your dad ever sit you down and tell you that you should open a door for a lady?  Mine didn’t.  He may have given me tidbits of information about how to schmooze or charm my way into their good graces, but never just basic manners.  He was quick to yell if I did something out of line…  correction was his role.  Teaching was Mama’s.

It was Mama that gave me my education in manners:

• Do not talk with your mouth full
• Say “thank you” and “please”
• Keep your elbows off the table
• Open the door for others
• Walk on the traffic side of your girl
• Always wear clean underwear
• Be on time when meeting someone
• Acknowledge when someone is talking to you
• Share
• Do no interrupt when others are speaking
• Keep negative opinions to yourself
• Don’t make fun of people
• Cover your mouth when you sneeze
• Don’t wipe a runny nose on your sleeve
• Don’t pick your boogers in public
• Don’t lick your plate

That is not to say that Dad didn’t teach me anything.  The lessons I learned at his knee were invaluable and have been some of the most important of my life.  In fact, look for them in a future post.

Once again though, I have to thank Mom for the amazing role she played in shaping who I am.  I hope to live up to her expectation of a good man and will keep trying to fix my shortcomings. Thanks Mom!

I even made a handy graphic for you folks to satisfy your Pinterest needs.  🙂