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. Â They ARE why boys become gentlemen or tyrants.
Think about it… Â did your dad ever sit you down and tell you that you should open a door for a lady? Â Mine didn’t. Â 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. Â He was quick to yell if I did something out of line… Â correction was his role. Â 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. Â The lessons I learned at his knee were invaluable and have been some of the most important of my life. Â 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. Â 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.  🙂
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