I read somewhere yesterday that people might forget what you say to them, or something that you do for them, but they will never forget the way that you made them feel. I let that quote marinate for a little while and then I realized, I think this person, (who ever it was that said it) might actually be onto something.
I remember once when I was a little girl (ok I know I'm 6ft tall now so imagining me as a little girl is sorta difficult, but just envision me now, but a smaller me) my father told me that he would come to one of my softball games and I was really hoping that he would, he was in the Army and was always super busy so I strived to try to keep his interest in me because he had so many other things going on, but sports I knew had interest in, so I sorta thought he'd show...he didn't, ever, to as many as I invited him to. Yeah, he might have been held up at work, or forgotten, but nonetheless, the point of this story is, that what he said to me didn't stick with me, the way he made me feel by NOT showing however, did. Obviously, because I still think of it to this day. (Yes, I've moved on from it, parents do many things to dis-please us in our lives, and vice versa, it's just part of life-but thanks for caring about me! ;)
Think about how many times you've told someone that you'd go to the movies with them or out to get a drink but then couldn't make it, for various reasons, let that happen one too many times and think about what happens to that friendship. Do you think it's because of what you SAID to them that made them ultimately stop inviting you to go out with them? No, it's how you made them FEEL when you canceled or didn't show. You can't really blame them for not asking anymore though, can you? Sooo...
Here's what I think;
I think I'm going to make sure from now on that I do what I say, and say what I do. Mean what I say, and say what I mean. And I'm going to really think about how I'm going to make the other person "feel" by my actions. Because ultimately, actions speaker louder than words. But that's a topic for a whole other day. ;)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend my peeps, thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!
when asked what makes a good parent -- i always say: mean what you say. if you say you're going to take them to a game, take them to the game. if you say you're going to give them a time out, give them the time out. it doesn't take kids (and adults) very long to figure out if your word means something....and they respect and love you much more when it does! and you can respect yourself.
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