Saturday, June 25, 2011

Day 176, June 25

I am not a fancy person. My house isn't fancy. My car isn't fancy. My clothes aren't fancy. That's all right. Fancy usually means upkeep. Frankly, just doing my personal upkeep is time-consuming enough. For those of us of a certain age, upkeep is hard work. It takes more cream, more hair coloring, just MORE.

I'm not a fan of upkeep. I like things that take care of themselves. That's the primary reason why I currently wear my hair short. However, I believe in upkeep for some things. Recently, I've noticed that I've been lazy in the upkeep od my relationships. How did I allow myself to become so lazy, even sloppy, in tending to the most imporfant thing in life?

When I fail to thank someone for a favor or a gift, I am lazy. When I fail to offer a sincere compliment to someone on a job well done, I am lazy. When I fail to acknowledge God's hand in all blessings, I am lazy. I failed to tend to my upkeep.

You may scoff at such things, claiming that they don't matter. I disagree. Manners are how we treat others and smooth out the rough bumps in life. Have you ever attended a much-awaited concert or lecture, only to have cell phones buzzing during the performance? Worse, have you been forced to listen to someone's private conversation in close quarters? Have you sat in church and witnessed members texting during the worship service? I don't believe such individuals set out to be rude; I believe they have forgotten where they are. They failed to tend to their upkeep.

So, for today, I am grateful for those who tend to their upkeep.

1 comment:

  1. You're right on, Jane, as usual. There are only so many things in life that we can keep up the upkeep on. (Let's not count the number of prepositions in the last sentence, and ignore the one at the end.) Our daily, hourly question is, what are the things that are worth keeping up?

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