thank you

I love "thank you." I totally do. I say it all the time.. especially to complete strangers. I get the feeling it absolutely throws them. (But that's just a bonus.. not why I do it.)

I thank the people that bag my groceries. I thank the people that hold doors open for me. I thank the waiters that bring me my food. I thank the baristas at Starbucks for making my drinks (even when they add whipped cream after I told them not to). I thank cashiers for giving me change, the UPS/FedEx drivers that bring packages to my door, and Lily.. all the time. She isn't always the angel I make her out to be and when she does something I ask.. I always remember to say "thank you."

And she is a thank you-er too- even at 3. But she has been for awhile. In her swimming class over the summer they were sharing toys. One little boy willingly handed over the toy he had to Lily (which everyone was so impressed by) and then she said "thank you" and all the moms just about flipped their lids. Woah! "How old is she?!" they all wanted to know.

It never really occurred to me that I needed to teach her manners.. I just did apparently. She doesn't always use them, of course, but when she does- I can't help but smile. She can be too loud and demanding sometimes (what toddler isn't?), but when I remind her how she should be asking for something (not throwing out commands) she'll resay it and throw in the appropriate 'please' or 'thank you' (and usually changes her tone as well).

It's amazing how quickly mommy hops to it when she hears "mommy, can you get me juice please?" instead of "get me juice!" while ducking a chucked sippy cup.