Keep Breathing - Ingrid Michaelson

Lacking Respect?

You hear it all the time - teens have no respect for their elders. They don't know how to behave or be polite. Middle school aged kids are the worst. And I used to believe that. But here's the thing - I work at a middle school. Every morning, if there are student's entering at the same time I am, the door is held for me while I walk in. Every morning, at least one of them says, "good morning" to me.

In our own, new neighborhood, I often take our dog out to "do her business" while it's still dark. On several different mornings, different high school aged kids are passing. They say good morning to me. One young man was walking toward us to pass and my dog ran up to him, barking a bit. I quickly explained she would not hurt him, just smell him. His response?

"No problem, ma'am. I'll just let her sniff me. I like dogs." Then, as he passed by and we began to head back into the house, "Have a nice day, ma'am."

I think I've been hit with some respect from the very crowd accused of lacking it. I hope I'm not the only one because it speaks volumes to me and maybe it will change the way some of them are viewed. Keep up the good work, "young adults" (you deserve that title).

Stranger

It's been a long time since I popped in here. Moving was an overwhelming task as we went from a home we'd lived in for fifteen years to an apartment, losing about 500 square feet of space. A month later, we're pretty much settled. It looks....and feels like home.