Trust me

Don't ever let anyone tell you that being trustworthy is not important. As a parent, I try to teach my kids how important it is to be honest. I've been known to pass along little motherly nuggets such as, "You know why your teacher believed YOUR side of the story? It's probably because you have always been honest with her before. Now, make sure you don't give her any reason to change her opinion of you!" Seriously, I had that chat with Scott last week. He's a great kid. He drives his sisters crazy, but what self-respecting 11-year-old boy does NOT? Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Darryl posted some thoughts he had about honesty and greed, etc., so I can see we have a lot of similar thoughts. I've been simply blown away by the unflinching corruption of the governor of Illinois. He seems to act as though it is NORMAL to behave the way he does. If I was his mother, I would smack him on the behind! My kids will tell you (if they are being honest, mind you!) that I am not much of a "hitter," and times when I spanked in the past were usually rare but meaningful.

Honesty is, by far, the most important virtue in my book. I still remember, almost 30 years later, how mortified I was to be caught in a lie when I was attending my last year of girls camp. I was a YCL (ask your daughter, she'll know what that means), and my boyfriend was attending Scout camp not far away. He came to our camp one evening, and I told my leaders I was going to visit the outhouse, but I was really going to the parking lot to visit said boyfriend. Really, nothing happened, and it was very, very harmless (I'm boring like that). But like I said, I still remember how horrible I felt when I realized that my leaders had trusted me, and I had lied to them, and they knew it! I think I need to send them an apology :)

At any rate, I've been let down a few times in my life...mostly in my adult life. I don't want to go into details, because it's all been very painful for me. And, for the life of me, I just can't see what would make someone feel it was okay to betray someone who trusts him or her. I can get upset and angry, but I can state for a fact that I react much better when a loved one levels with me and trusts ME enough to be honest...no matter what the story. I believe that it is my duty to forgive and then to walk away from that kind of thing, not wearing it around my neck like a pendant. But I can't forgive...and ultimately forget...unless I am allowed to hear it all and begin that process.

Okay, don't anyone worry....no one is in trouble, and I'm not leaving my husband :) I've just had some "tender spots" tormented recently. Plus I've had a long and exhausting day, and I just realized that I won't have ANY time to shop for my family for Christmas. Do you think Lauren will mind that we only have one present for her under the tree? We really meant to get more. Honest. ;)