you're responsible for you.

i am the last, but not the least to post!! sorry i haven't been blogging lately. twenty credits, working the days i'm not in school, fundraising, and planning haiti mission teams really keep me busy!!

so i'm supposed to write about how my mother turned me into such a well-behaved young lady. well, seeing as i really don't remember much from my childhood, i found this blog post very difficult to write. [obviously, since i put it off for quite a while..] but here i am. writing it.

when she told me what she wanted me to write about, immediately one memory came to mind. well, probably just a memory because i've heard the story so many times, but even so, a memory.

my mom took my sisters and i grocery shopping one day. obviously when you're a kid you're either messing around, thinking about how bored your are, or looking at all the things you want to get while you're grocery shopping with mom. well, i knew what i wanted; a big bag of suckers. my mom always taught us to eat healthy so obviously she wouldn't buy me a giant bag of bubblegum suckers. so when we were waiting in line at the register, i just took them.

i guess at that age i wasn't really sure what was going to happen if i was caught and maybe i didn't even know what i was doing! i honestly don't remember what i was thinking besides how much i wanted a sucker.

so when we got home my mom realized what i had done. instead of just taking the suckers away and punishing me, she did me one better. my mother took me and my sisters alllll the way back to the store where she then made me return the bag of suckers and apologize to the cashier.

boy, was that the most embarrassing moment of my little life. it was then and there i realized one: that stealing was bad and two: that i needed to take responsibility for what i had done. she didn't just put me in a time-out at home. she made me go face the very person i had stolen from. although i'm sure i was ashamed and embarrassed at the time, but i am so glad my mom taught me that lesson.

i mean, i didn't just learn not to steal, but i knew from then on if i did something wrong it was only my fault. i couldn't blame someone else or just hide from what i'd done. you always need to take responsibility.

also, she definitely taught my sisters and i the value of money and responsibility with it. i think we were around 13 or 14 when my mom told us that from then on we were responsible for buying clothes that we wanted. she would take us school shopping once or twice a year and get us clothing, but if we wanted anything extra we needed to pay for it.

this taught me that i can't just ask for anything i want and get it. we had to earn things we wanted. i know so many people i've grown up with and gone to school with that don't have value in anything because their parents just give it to them. i mean, i can't even remember the last time my parents just gave me money because i asked for it. i'm not even sure if that EVER happened when i was growing up.

i just see all these kids today throwing money away like it's nothing and they're not even grateful for it! i am SO thankful that my mom instilled that in us at such a young age. i think that kept us grounded and thankful for everything that we did get. there are kids my age that are still asking mom and dad for money for everything they want. i take pride in the fact that i pay for my own car every month, i pay for my own clothes, i pay for extra fun things i want to go out and do with my friends, i pay for new tires, i could go on and on. i mean, i feel like if i didn't pay for it myself i just won't have as much value for it.

another thing my mom always taught us was to be polite. i can't tell you how many times my friends parents have commented on how polite i am. and they always say something like "oh i wish johnny here spoke to me as nicely as you do!" that always makes me sad. and to see how some of kids treat their parents. it's like no one's teaching their kids respect anymore. at tim hortons and at the movie theater i have seen some of the rudest children ever. they just yell and scream and speak to their parents like they're inferior. and i don't think they mean to or even know they're doing it! it's just how they've learned to get what they want. i just wish kids were still learning the kind of politeness and respect that i was taught when i was growing up.

i am so thankful for how my mom [and tom!!] raised my sisters and i. almost every time i go over to a friends house i am reminded of what amazing parents God has blessed me with. i truly believe that the way i was raised has had a HUGE impact on my performance in school, work, and my life. and now that i've started typing there's more i want to say! but i'm babysitting and i think she just got home so i've got to wrap it up. thanks for being just good parents mom and tom!! we love you!