Words That Matter

We heard mass yesterday and were standing at the back of the congregation when suddenly, I felt somebody wiggling his way through, between me and my sister.  (Okay, I used "wiggle" because it sounded better kinder than "forcing his way", haha!).  But really. . . it was. . . (sorry for the word). . . annoying!  I was annoyed (and disappointed) that this young man (he must be around 16 years old) didn't even have the decency to say "Excuse Me".  At his age, I think he should know better. Some of you may find this incident trivial (that I let it affect me, haha!) but I must say that having good manners is important.  Having good manners show that you are polite, you care, you are considerate of other people's feelings and most importantly, it shows that you respect them.

My parents taught me early on in life that there are words, though they may sound simple are words that matter and can make a difference.  

They emphasized on the importance of saying "Thank You", "Please", "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening" and probably the hardest word to say (yes, even for us adults probably, haha). . ."I'm sorry".

In the Filipino culture, we use "po"  (usually put at the end of a sentence) and "opo" (means "yes") to show respect when we are talking to someone who is older than us. 

Image from www.teachthis.co.uk

Janina has learned to say "Please" and "Thank You"  and we are still working on "I'm sorry" and "Excuse Me".

Just like how my parents taught us, I want her to learn the importance of having good manners and take these words by heart.

There is no "too early" to teach manners. . . and no "too late" to learn either. 

To the young man who "wiggled his way". . . it's not too late =)