The Habit of Courtesy
-Helen Morrison, Board President
A good number of years ago, just before her wedding, my niece asked my mom, her grandmother, what it was that made her and Pop-Pop be able to stay married for so long.
My parents were very very different from one another. In some ways, it shouldn’t have been a marriage that lasted. But it did...from 1933 until my dad died in 2002 and my mom passed in 2003. My mom’s reply to my niece was, “the Habit of Courtesy”. Whatever befalls, whatever challenges, disappointments, joys, hurts, still maintain courtesy between you, because then at least, care, respect, and even love can survive.
In a much larger sense, outside of an immediate family relationship, the Habit of Courtesy is really the only way to go. We have been through a very rough period over the last year and a half. We have been sequestered, with not a lot of opportunity to be out and about and to get things tended to. For the time being, that now seems over. And in the animal and pet world, we are trying to get caught up on wellness check ups with our vets, and get even more pressing pet health issues tended to. Unfortunately, the vet clinics are swamped with more requests than they can handle. This is true all over the country...and especially true in our neck of the woods. There just aren’t enough vets, or vet techs, or time. I know how much we all love our pets and want them tended to, as quickly as possible. Given the shortage, the vet clinics are doing the best they can to fit us in. It is not a problem that will be solved quickly. And I know how frustrating and worried we can get about the pets we love, and that frustration and worry can explode in anger at times...directed against the people at the vet clinics. They are just people, like you and me, trying their best in difficult situations. And so...I am hopeful that we can all, myself included, remind ourselves to hang onto the Habit of Courtesy. It feels a whole lot better to everyone involved...and it just makes things much better in this world when we are as gentle as we can be with each other. And maybe even give each other comforting hugs….if we are open to it.
-Helen Morrison, Board President
A good number of years ago, just before her wedding, my niece asked my mom, her grandmother, what it was that made her and Pop-Pop be able to stay married for so long.
My parents were very very different from one another. In some ways, it shouldn’t have been a marriage that lasted. But it did...from 1933 until my dad died in 2002 and my mom passed in 2003. My mom’s reply to my niece was, “the Habit of Courtesy”. Whatever befalls, whatever challenges, disappointments, joys, hurts, still maintain courtesy between you, because then at least, care, respect, and even love can survive.
In a much larger sense, outside of an immediate family relationship, the Habit of Courtesy is really the only way to go. We have been through a very rough period over the last year and a half. We have been sequestered, with not a lot of opportunity to be out and about and to get things tended to. For the time being, that now seems over. And in the animal and pet world, we are trying to get caught up on wellness check ups with our vets, and get even more pressing pet health issues tended to. Unfortunately, the vet clinics are swamped with more requests than they can handle. This is true all over the country...and especially true in our neck of the woods. There just aren’t enough vets, or vet techs, or time. I know how much we all love our pets and want them tended to, as quickly as possible. Given the shortage, the vet clinics are doing the best they can to fit us in. It is not a problem that will be solved quickly. And I know how frustrating and worried we can get about the pets we love, and that frustration and worry can explode in anger at times...directed against the people at the vet clinics. They are just people, like you and me, trying their best in difficult situations. And so...I am hopeful that we can all, myself included, remind ourselves to hang onto the Habit of Courtesy. It feels a whole lot better to everyone involved...and it just makes things much better in this world when we are as gentle as we can be with each other. And maybe even give each other comforting hugs….if we are open to it.
