It's All About You

I want to buy a nameplate. I do not want it say my name. I want it to say, "It's  All About You". That way, when people act selfish, I can tell them to look at the nameplate. The world has become a selfish place. Things are done for self serving reasons. I will do it for you as long as there is something in it for me. I am not wired that way. I will do it for you, just to do it for you. Lately, this attitude is short circuiting me. I think I need to be rewired.

No Words

There are millions, if not billions, of words in the human race. They range from proper to slang. If there were not enough words, the dictionary adds a few each year. Ones that were made up and became part of our vernacular. Language goes back to the beginning of time and appears in the bible with the Tower of Babel. With all of these words available to us, sometimes we cannot find the right ones to express our feelings. There are no words to tell someone how much you really love them. There are no words to express how your heart feels when someone you love is in pain. There are no words to comfort someone when they are feeling sad. There are no words to say that you wish you could do more, when there is nothing you can do. You hope that they know you are there for them and in your heart every day, even if your words cannot emphasize it the way you would like them to. With all of the words in the world, there is not one to say, "I have no words". 

Sponges

Children are like sponges. They soak up everything. Children's television shows nowadays are geared to the learning process. Years ago the cartoons were based on violence. Characters ran around hitting each other over the heads or cutting off limbs. If you are my age, you will remember scenes that had blood dripping from an arm that was sliced off with a knife. In the next scene, the arm was reattached. The Roadrunner loved to hammer people over their heads. The Three Stooges poked out people's eyes. No wonder my generation has issues. Children now watch educational shows. They learn about animals, nature, numbers and colors. At two years old, they know more than I did when I was in kindergarten. I watch television with my grandson and love the interactive experience. Last night we learned about rainclouds.

Not Your Business

The other evening, one of my receptionists called me and was a bit upset. She thought she had done something wrong. A patient's mother was checking out at the front window and started to question her about our fees. The mother saw the schedule and noticed that there were different prices for different people. She wanted to know why. The receptionist said that there were different levels of doctors and their prices vary. I told her that she answered correctly. When I got to work the next day, I went to the front window and looked through the window to see if I could see the schedule. I could not. I had to stand on my toes and lean over to see. The mother had to have done that also. There was no reason for her to have been so nosy. If she questions me about the fees, she will be sorry.

Work Ethic

Work ethic is not learned. It is inbred into your value system. When we chose a contractor to redo our bathrooms, we did not look only at price. We looked at character. Did we get a timely call back? Did the person seem trustworthy at the estimate? Were there any complaints on the internet? We got lucky and found a man that fit the bill. He is on time and has done what he promised. He never asked for a penny until he did a fair days work and then asked for less than originally agreed to because he felt that he did not accomplish as much as he should have the first day. I felt that he had done more that expected. Upon sitting down and talking to him, I found out that he is only 23 years old. He is running the family business while completing his last year in school for architecture. This young man will have a bright future because he has a wonderful foundation.

Packing Away

Since I am re doing most of my house, things need to be packed away or thrown out. Most of us place things in boxes or hide them in closets and never really know what those things are. I wish I could just pick up each box and play the guessing game. If I do not know what is in the box, just toss it in the garbage. Sight unseen. I would never miss it. Instead I will open each box and go through the reasons why I should either keep or toss. Yesterday I did this with my older son's room. He is almost 34 years old but I had items there from elementary school. I sat and reminisced and then put them into the garbage bag. I can still hold onto the memories without holding onto the actual items.

The We of Me

Years ago I heard an expression, "The we of me". To put it simply, it means that when more than one person is supposed to be involved in something the word "we" is intended to mean both of them, but in reality the "we" turns onto only one of the people. It can be used as a selfless act or a selfish one. Here are two examples. If an insurance company pays the wrong amount on a claim "we" need to call them. How come only one us is on the phone for an hour while the other one is scrolling on eBay? If we are remodeling a bathroom and "we" need to stay within a budget, how come one of us is running the numbers while the other one is scrolling on eBay? I used to know someone who called her husband Mr. Will. His real name was Charlie. Every time something needed to be done he said, "We'll do it". Hence, the name Mr. Will.