When I'm a Grandma....

My husband works for a general contractor and his latest project was a restaurant.  We won’t talk about the crazy schedule he has worked the last month and the times he worked a very full day,came home for dinner and bedtime and went back to work till 2 in the morning.  Nope won’t share that with you at all

Moving on….it was the grand opening last night and he wanted all of us to go and eat at his restaurant.  This is an actual sit down at the table and wait for your food kind of restaurant.  It is not a fast food joint or Red Robin.  It is super yummy Mexican food that doesn’t have a “Bell” in the name.  We couldn’t get a 12 pack of tacos for $6.00. (couldn’t even get one taco for $6.00) We don’t go to sit down restaurants often because of the cost to feed 7 people and because I have a phobia of one or more of my children having a total meltdown in that sort of restaurant and having to do the “walk of shame” out of said restaurant. 

When we walked in I saw the glances between the hostesses of this large family of children.  Not friendly glances either. So when they seated us SMACK DAB in the middle of the restaurant for ALL to see, I was a bit anxious.  Please sit us in the corner where not everyone and their dog are watching us.  We are a huge spectacle anyway, not many families with 5 children eating at this kind of restaurant in Vegas.

But this night was a Mommy Pay Day.  My kids, all 5 of them were incredibly well behaved.  They were surprisingly patient and happy.  Only one incident of the 2 year old throwing a chip because the salsa was too spicy (handed him my iPhone and he was as good as gold the rest of the night….cheating? maybe, I didn’t care).  They tried new foods and liked them!! I was so proud of my kids.  Maybe the many times we’ve talked about manners and correct behavior in public finally sank in a little bit.  I kept telling them how great they were doing and they beamed.

And then it was my turn to beam.  A sweet woman, probably my Mom’s age came over to me and said, “You have the most beautiful family, you are so blessed.  We have been watching you and are so impressed with how well your children are behaved.”  I almost wanted to cry it made me feel so good.

How many times do we as Moms get compliments like that?  RARELY if ever! We don’t get positive words like that enough and our pay days can be few and far between.  I decided last night that when I’m a Grandma I am going to compliment Mom’s with children in public. 

Then I thought today, why do I need to wait until I’m a Grandma?  Why not start now?  Why not compliment my amazing friends when their kids are well behaved at my house?  Why not compliment people whose children behave well at church?  Why not tell a Mom at the park how cute her kids are and how kind they were to let my children play?

Can you imagine how great we would feel if we did this on a regular basis with each other?  What if instead of comparing and/or criticizing we complimented and uplifted? 

Moms unite!  Let’s uplift and compliment each other more and give each other more Mommy pay days!  We deserve it!

If you know me at all, you know that I was very disappointed in the outcome of the election.  I volunteered for the Romney campaign, had a yard sign, had stickers on my car etc…I was a Romney groupie J  I highly respect Governor Romney and his wife and family.  I was so hopeful he would be elected and make some needed changes for our government.  But I never though Mitt Romney was the “Savior” who would swoop in and fix our entire country and create utopia.  I agree with his economic principles and I think he is a proven and amazing leader and a good, moral man.

I do not hate President Obama.  I disagree with many of his policies and decisions, and it is unbelievable to me that my state voted for him when we have incredibly high unemployment and the biggest housing crisis in the nation.  But it is what it is, I have no control over it and it does no good to dwell on it and get sucked into the negativity.

What has almost saddened me more than the outcome of the election are the hateful words and actions spewed out by both sides.  I have been called a racist while wearing my Romney/Ryan shirt, but I have also seen equally hateful statements made by those on the other side. Our nation is The Divided States of America right now and nothing positive is going to come from the division.  We are not defined by our political views; we are not the sum of our opinions.  We are Americans and Children of God and have more in common than we have different.  We all want good things for our families, we all want to be loved, we want to be safe and have our basic needs taken care of. 

I really enjoy Facebook, and am on it frequently.  I have loved reconnecting with friends from long ago and keeping up with my friends who I don’t see as often as I would like.  I enjoy the fun, positive interactions.  However, there is a downside to Facebook and social networking.  The downside is that for some reason we feel free to comment and say things we would NEVER say to somebody’s face if we were having a face to face conversation. There is an element of anonymity there even if our name and picture are attached to our comment.    It seems that common courtesy and civility are disappearing from society and it makes me sad.  Even if you are certain you are right, it does no good to be mean and hurtful. It’s okay for people to think differently than you do.

I have always taught my kids that they don’t need to agree with everything somebody thinks or says, and they don’t have to be best friends with everyone but they must be KIND to everyone!  Kindness is such an amazing character trait and I’m afraid it’s disappearing.  One of my favorite Primary songs that I sing to my kids is, “I want to be kind to everyone for that is right you see. So I say to myself remember this, kindness begins with me.” 

That being said, I am worried about the future of our country, and not necessarily because we have a democrat in the White House.  Families are being destroyed. The moral decay I see everywhere is shocking.  It makes me sad for my kids and what they will have to face.  But what keeps coming to mind is that it is time for me to step it up and be the best member of my church, be the best parent and wife and citizen I can be. Our church leaders are optimistic and positive, if you don’t believe me, read their talks from conference.  We can do this; our kids are strong enough and were born at this time because they have been held in reserve until now as the strongest spirits our Father in Heaven has.

 I read this quote today and loved it.

”Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens in your house.”  Barbara Bush