Twelve Things We Know but May Sometimes Forget

1. RSVP: The initials stand for the French phrase “Répondez, s'il vous plaît," which literally means, "reply please."   Whether we can OR cannot attend an event, when asked to RSVP, it is right and courteous to do so.  The host is counting on each invitee's response to aid in planning a pleasurable experience for self and guests. With the prevalence of Evite and social media event apps, this has become so much easier -with just a click of a button.  If you receive an old-fashioned paper and ink invitation, remember to RSVP… and within the allotted time. 
2. Tip wait staff and others in service industries whether the service is good or less than stellar.  It is how the majority of them make their living here in the USA.  Don’t penalize them for a bad day, poor manners or being in a position for which they are ill-suited. (see #6)Just as we would never skip out on the check, let's not skip out on the tip. Reward above-the-call-of-duty service with more than the minimum.  Emily Post would be proud.
3. Use turn signals as a matter of law, safety and public service.  A simple push up or down of the little stick on the steering column could drastically reduce the number of people who are irritated before they get to work, making them more capable of remembering to do the next thing on this list.
4.  Make eye contact and say “Good morning” or “Hello” upon entering a space where there are other people, especially people that are seen every day like one's housemates, co-workers and neighbors.  It puts everyone in a good mood and usually brings about more positive interactions throughout the day.
   
5. Say “Thank You” when someone holds the door open or demonstrates any other act of kindness and courtesy.  Also, saying please will usually get a lot more done and with much better attitudes.
6. Everyone makes mistakes.  Most of the time, people are doing the best they can.  There is not a person one will meet who is not dealing with or thinking about something.  Grace is not just something to say over a meal.  It is a attitude extended when someone does something we would have done differently or better (at least in our opinion).
7. Never say “Never!”.  If one lives long enough, it becomes more evident that it all eventually comes to pass if not in your life, in someone else’s. Kids make their own choices and sometimes those choices are mistakes.  Companies downsize.  Couples disagree.  Friends fight.  Feelings change... for better and for worse.  No life is bullet-proof. Nonetheless, every life can be really good and full especially if we keep an open mind and an open heart to what things may come.
8. Listen when others are speaking.  We are all developing a permanent bend in our necks from staring at electronic devices even during conversations with people who matter.  Guilty as charged.  Listen to hear and understand, not to respond. Listen completely.  Listen with your whole body.  Listening well is a sure-fire way to bring connection and spur on relationships.  Maybe that's why we have two ears that do not close and one mouth that does.
9. Be grateful for what you have.  The late Dale Carnegie would like to remind us all “Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is wanting what you get.” To get in the habit of practicing gratitude, write down at least three new things to be grateful for each day.
10. Learn something new everyday.  Every person we interact with and every experience in which we find ourselves offers something for us to learn.  Be a good student of life.  There are no grades, but there are definitely rewards!
11. There are very few real grown-ups.  Sorry if you didn’t already know this.  We are all making this thing up as we go.  Some people are just a little more confident in their experiments than others.  You might already know that even they are not as confident and sure of themselves as they may seem to you. Don't be insecure. "Comparison is the thief of joy.", said Teddy Roosevelt. We are doing just fine.  And if not, we will do it better as we know better. We are all trying to figure out this thing called life and how to live it well without breaking anything or anyone.
12. The best of life is now.  The evidence is in the pictures we take, the books we read, the notes we scribble in our journals and the appointments in our calendars, the things we do for free and the people we spend our time with. Look at pictures from 10 years ago.  I bet the sweet memories will freely flow. "Today" will be 10 years ago before you know it.  It is the best of life- NOW.  A word of encouragement, however: I am learning that life is best enjoyed in real time, not only in photographs. So put the camera down and carpe diem!

  - Andrea

Bake Sale Baby by Carolyn

     "Hey, would you hold the baby?" asked the young mother. She wanted to take a look at the baked goods we had spread out on the folding table in front of the K-Mart. That was a good thing, since we were hoping as many people as possible would buy from our bake sale, which was a fundraiser for my church youth group.
     I was surprised by the request, but I willingly reached out to take the car seat she was holding, which contained a beautiful, chubby-cheeked, curly-haired infant. I cooed and jabbered at the smiling face, eager as always to spend some time interacting with a baby.
     The young mother surveyed the cookies, brownies, and muffins laid out on display. Apparently she found something that appealed to her, for she began digging through her purse for spare change to make a purchase.
     Just at that moment, our attention was caught by the wail of sirens coming closer and closer. As the police car screeched to a stop just in front of us, a harried-looking man in a rumpled button-down shirt tucked (more or less) into a pair of dress slacks bustled out of the K-Mart. He was the very image of the lower-level store manager we assumed he was. He rushed up to the police officer who had stepped out of the patrol car.
     Those of us gathered around the bake sale table (several young adolescents like me and our youth group director) could not hear what the store manager was saying to the officer, but we could clearly tell he was chattering excitedly, accompanied by wild gesticulations (including pointing fingers) and frequent glances in our general direction. We watched the exchange between the store manager and the officer with mounting curiosity.
     We were not kept in the dark for long. In just a few minutes the two men headed toward us. The officer began to question the young mother whose baby I was still holding in its car seat. "Where did you get the car seat?" "When did you purchase it?" "Do you have a receipt?" The mother had initially looked calm and confident, but soon enough began to look more and more apprehensive and defensive. She began to stammer and lost most of her aplomb in the face of the policeman's questioning.
     As my friends and I watched in slack-jawed disbelief, the police officer pulled the woman's arms behind her and slapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists, apparently unsatisfied with her responses to his questions. He walked her to his patrol car and matter-of-factly installed her in its back seat.
    The store manager, noticing our very obvious astonishment at the proceedings, and probably feeling quite smug, finally told us what we were dying to know. He explained that the young woman had strolled into the store sometime earlier with her infant, but without a car seat. She had shopped her way casually to the baby goods section of the store and neatly slid her baby boy into one of the car seats featured in a display. She then nonchalantly continued with her shopping, eventually exiting the store and stopping to patronize our bake sale.
     Her sweet tooth proved to be her downfall, as it gave the store manager time to summon the law to the scene before she had made good her escape with her infant ensconced in the purloined car seat. . .The very infant in the very car seat that I was still holding in my arms.
-Carolyn