A First Impression

John has got me hooked on the show “How I Met You’re Mother” and we’ve been watching it before we go to bed at night. Last night I had the weirdest dream. John and I were a part of the show’s gang and we were visiting Barney at his apartment. As we entered the garage and walked out towards the building we looked around and noticed that there was trash everywhere; it was disgusting and smelled horrendous. When I asked Barney why all the filth he said, “Oh yeah, you have to walk through the garbage dump to get to the front door”. We all looked at each other and continued on, the walk was about five minutes long and it just got worse and worse. When I awoke I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that the show had made it to my dreams. Such a weird dream, but as I thought about it more and more this morning, I had an epiphany! When you meet someone for the first time, do you make them walk through the garbage dump first?

John and I went to a party with another couple a few months back and as we were meeting others at this party, we were taken aback by the raunchy mouths, stories and language these people were using. Everyone was pretty much our age but they just let out their whole lives; bad, ugly, and even worse. When we went home we both talked about how interesting it was that these people were not embarrassed by their words or behavior and that everyone just falls in line. Just recently I went to a friend’s house and one of the girls was sharing about how she just sleeps around and doesn’t really care, another girl was candidly talking about her abortions and one even mentioned that her New Year’s Resolution was to “sleep around”. Here I am never meeting these women before and this is what they offer up.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I hear these comments and I don’t judge the person, we all come from different walks of life and have very different upbringings, scars, and goals. I would talk to these people again and though I may not  agree with some of  their lifestyles, it’s not my job to condemn them. I do however find it interesting that people have no discernment about what comes out of their mouths. Yes, we all have failures and moments of insanity but I make sure that the path I leave behind me isn’t full of those remnants, I don’t tell fake stories about my life either but I think it’s important to always be the kind of person that puts a good foot forward. A “sloppy mouth” has never led to a good first impression. I think the same thing goes for people that you meet and you know that every word out of their mouth is untrue, it’s the same scenario, and they feel they need to over-impress in order to be liked.

I want my son to treat each person he meets with respect and kindness. As if it’s an honor to meet them, he needs to keep his mouth intact and he needs to also be real and honest, not faking that he is something he isn’t. I want him to be honorable. I want him to be respectful to not only others but to himself and his own character.

“I think it's time people put more focus back into respecting themselves; realize that you are the one who can teach other's how to treat you. If you start flying at the mouth about a sexual meeting and all your bad judgment in various situations, how are people going to respect you? Aren’t these stories supposed to be preserved for a best friend, someone you can confide in?

That’s what I thought was so profound about this dream. I began to consider my life and thought about the things that maybe I’m offering to people; trash isn’t something that they should be walking through just to come to my front door.

Putting a little pretty in your life isn’t just about looking your best or having integrity, it’s about actually being pretty with your words, your thoughts and your actions. I want to live up to that and I want my children to as well.