Manners matters

I know I've written about manners in the past, but that was about teaching manners to children.

This time, it's almost entirely different. This time, it's about the rarity of using manners as an adult.

In both my worst and best behaviours, I always show my appreciation towards acts and gestures that deserve to be acknowledged with due gratitude. I make sure that even in the worst tone of communication, I will still acknowledge the fact that the experience is something I am grateful for. Even if ties end and relations go sour, I always learn from both my mistakes and the mistakes of others before moving forward; out of respect and the sheer propriety in the fashion I was raised, I know that appreciation for ill-intended mishaps exists because of the learning experiences that the consequences of these situations have to offer. The appreciation is still due because it is a part of the events that have occurred in your life that make an impact on your future decisions and your future behaviours. Now because this is the way I grew up to respect every aspect of my life, I believe very strongly in the effect of having manners.

The thing I don't understand is that when I can look at people with whom I have existing issues, and still be grateful for their less than beneficial role in my life, I can't even get a damn coffee from the people running the drive through and hear a simple "Have a great day!"

My boyfriend and I have this issue all the time. We'll pull up to a Tim Horton's or McDonald's drive thru and get a "Can I take your order?" .... We RARELY get a "Hi welcome to *chain name*, how may I help you?"
I mean, after being immediately offended by the quick " Can I take your order?" As an instant reflex, we look back, only to see no cars behind us, we look through the window and see maybe one person in line at the front if any at all... and then we wonder why the hell it was so hard to take two extra seconds out of your day to at least say hi... It's not like you're in a rush so why do you speed through the conversation like having manners is an inefficient use of your time?

Human interaction is so limited nowadays, so I take my time to converse with every day labourers and service professionals when they're not busy. It may be bold to speak on behalf of my boyfriend, but I do believe that the times we go out together, we both enjoy speaking to cashiers, or customer service reps, or other service professionals who engage in conversation with us - so long as we're not holding up a line or causing distraction. The thing is, it's so rare nowadays to find pleasant and polite people like that, that when we do come across those people, its like finding a unicorn.
Saying please and thank you is a common courtesy and half the bloody idiots nowadays don't even have those two phrases in their vocabulary. Out of respect and genuine care, my boyfriend and I will ask people how their days are and the odd time they reply with a "not so good" or a brutally honest answer of that nature, we care enough to proceed with asking what's wrong because sometimes they just want to talk or vent. Sometimes people are just bored at work, but we never underestimate their position because I have found that the people who really want to engage in conversation with us, even if seemingly mundane at the time, are the ones who surprise us with having the most to teach us.

So going back to the issue of manners - both received from the workers in the public sector and the manners we use when we communicate with them - failure to have even the simplest of manners is a show of your effect on humanity. It says a lot about your respect for others, your respect for yourself, and whether you deserve much of any respect from others.

As I was saying about the tim Horton's; when my boyfriend buys me a coffee, after receiving the cup, he'll say thank you and wishes them a great day/evening/night. And almost 95% of the time they will throw the change into his hand and shut the drive thru window without saying a single word back, sometimes without even looking him in the eye.

People say not to judge others, but if you're not thinking ill-thoughts of these people after they exhibit such rude behaviour to you, then you must be a saint because the use of manners and respect is a huge show of one's character and I can't help but think that these people were raised in a damn barn.

It's about that time that everyone, myself included, should really take into consideration the importance of human interaction. You could be served a coffee by the next Bill Gates who happens to be working full time at a coffee shop over the summer to afford tuition. You could be serving a doctor who might one day in the future, save your sick grandfather from a life threatening illness... You never know the people you meet for the first time. You don't know who they are or who they could one day be to you. And you don't NEED to know who they are or who they will be. You may never see them again for the rest of your life, but that doesn't mean it's not important to add a bit of extra time in being polite and respectful to everyone you encounter. ESPECIALLY those who do you no harm nor foul.

Manners are important.. manners matter.

Being a Mompreneur

The craziest thing about looking at my situation now is realizing that never in a million years would I have imagined being here the moment I became a mom.

At 16, the moment your doctor confirms that you are in fact pregnant, it is immediately proceeded by the moment you genuinely believe your life is over. At least for me, anyway.

Despite so many people telling me to abort or to put my child up for adoption - I can only look back and contemplate the path I chose and thank my lucky stars that I was at least half-witted enough not to pay them any mind.

Being 22 years old, the founder of a company that was only officially registered four months ago (April 2014) and now having the opportunity I was only too hopeful to even dream of having in at least 10 years from now, it is in this moment that I look back to that day my doctor uttered the affirmations of pregnancy, and realize that if that never happened, then this wouldn't either.

I finally found the career opportunity in something I genuinely LOVE doing and I am--arguably--great at it.
I mixed my two passions together - business and artistic creativity - and turned it into something I could be proud of and something my son will be proud of me for creating. Although my son HATES the concept of me working all the time, what he doesn't understand is that this business has allowed me to work primarily from home to be with him. Sure, I have to run my ass around the GTA to suppliers and vendors and to meet up with customers and clients, but for the most part, I can be with him and play a more active role as a mom in his life.

Being a mompreneur means running a business and family separate from each other, but still connected as part of my lifestyle.

Being a mom gave me the customer service skills that my clients seem to love about working with me, and if it weren't for my caring and patient handle with the people I've had the pleasure of working with, I am certain 50% of them would have done business with someone else.

At the same time, being a single mom helped me to develop the hard ass head I have in dealing with the fair number of people who have been more of a bother to my business affairs than as assets in helping gain my company's success.

But the reward at the end of it, I mean the real reward of this business rather than the financial gain involved, is knowing that my work, my creativity, literally the wonderful ideas that come right from my head and produced into a material object of my making, are being seen, touched, and held by over thousands of people around the world. From the wedding banners in America, my escort cards and favor tags in Israel, my thank you notes in England, my table signs in Australia, my menus in Spain... the list goes on, but little pieces of somethings that I designed and made are being shared all over the world... and knowing that one day Matheson will not only understand but be proud of the fact that thousands of pieces created from the product of mommy's creativty is being spread internationally is really what I have to gain.

Thats the venture I seek.. as an entrepreneur with a business oriented mind set but as a mother with my son and my family as my number one priority - this is what being a mompreneur is... and this is what I love.