Annie's Corner
Mood and Manners
by Anne O. Stout

 Ever heard the expression "put on a happy face"? Most of us have but I don't recommend it unless you are really happy. A forced smile can often look more like a grimace or a growl. 

 Have you ever notice the happy person is also the more polite? He holds the door, (yes I still like that) and she smiles and says "thank you."  They bump into each other and both say "sorry." A favor is done for you and you thank all involved, and etc; a nice sounding world eh, but not always reality. 

 Most of us are running to and fro trying to keep up with our lives, jobs, children, etc. like the proverbial rat in the exercise wheel. We run and run and run and run yet never get anywhere. Some even give up, get rolled over a few times by the still moving wheel then fall out with our eyeballs still rolling in their eye sockets. 

 Life's situations keep us from being happy all the time, therefore not always polite either. For instance he runs through the door, allowing it to slam in her face or even worse, slam on her. They bump into each other and both respond "watch it," "be careful," "clumsy ox," or worse, some folks just growl and move on. Put a happy face on these two and you will think they are gritting their teeth, and what happened to their manners? 

 Why does our mood affect our etiquette? Ms. Manners would be shocked for sure. Think about your last bad day and if you were guilty of using your best manners, chances are you did not. 

 Now the problem has been pinpointed, how can we correct this? Try to remember a kind word or gesture can cheer up others and therefore maybe cheer up ourselves in the process. Have you ever been experiencing a bad day and somehow got the opportunity to do a good deed, and wow, the bad day and mood are lifted? It's great isn't it, and the best benefit is the harder we work on having a good day, the better mood we return home in and that is important for those home relationships. I watched a couple of friends of mine get into a quarrel because both returned home and were in bad moods from having bad days on the job.  Strange part was when they made up they couldn't even remember what had started the argument, and even I, the witness did not know. 

 "Putting on a happy face" to greet our children is a good idea for the day, and makes teaching them manners much easier if we are using ours, and they do need to be taught them.  Having worked in several school systems, many of the students especially are not polite with each other; a little common courtesy might go along way in the hallways of schools. 

 We all have the ability to know what the right thing to do is and what is the wrong, it's just remembering it that gets to be hard. Good luck and have a good day, each and every day; and thank you for reading.