Unplug
When you are with someone, are you truly WITH them? What I mean is, are you physically present but distracted by your buzzing phone? Does your attention often drift away from the person you are sitting face to face with to go to someone that is on the other end of the text message or Facebook message?
You know where I’m going with this!
If this is you … don’t you think it’s time to unplug? It is different if you are by yourself and feel like checking every single message that comes across your phone. It is another thing entirely when you are in the presence of people and yet have your head stuck in your phone.
There have been times in the past where I have checked messages while in the presence of others if something was going on, such as a parade that we were attending with our horses in December. Although my family and I were out with a friend, I received an invitation for us to participate in the parade and needed to respond so they would know who all was interested. If we weren’t, they would need to ask others to participate instead. They were working on a time crunch and so I felt compelled to read and respond to the messages. Ordinarily, though, I try very hard not to get caught up in the technology trap when I’m in the presence of other people.
This past weekend we had a situation where the person was clearly addicted to their online activities and their phone. My daughter went to pick up a friend that was online playing games, and they asked her to wait while they finished their game.
WHAT?!
She told me about this later, and I definitely had a problem with this. He made her wait … until he finished his online game.
But … that’s not all.
He did have the decency to put his phone away while we were at the table eating supper, but as soon as he finished eating, he whipped his phone out once more.
When we arrived at the house to put in a movie that HE mentioned that HE wanted to see, he sprawled out on my couch as comfy as he could be … with his phone in hand texting the ENTIRE TIME!
My daughter sat in the chair looking at him on his phone completely ignoring the movie she had playing FOR HIM. She even said she’d turn it off since he wasn’t interested in it, but he protested saying not to and to leave it on because it was really a good movie.
Again … WHAT?!
She felt completely ignored that night and as if the other person or people on the other end of the messages were more important than her. That just is not right!
Needless to say, at the end of the night when she took him home, she was very disappointed in how rude he was the ENTIRE TIME they were together.
No, they aren’t dating. They were just hanging out as friends, BUT STILL … he should have unplugged long enough to talk with her or watch the movie since he mentioned he’d like to see it.
Needless to say, my daughter will not be hanging out with this friend any time soon.
If you have found yourself caught up in online activities, check yourself and see if you need to just unplug for a little while. Those around you will greatly appreciate if you are fully present … body, mind, and spirit … and not just a lump sitting in a chair or sprawled out on the couch while we watch you give your thumbs a work out!
It’s something to think about the next time you reach for your phone in the presence of others. Is that text message, Facebook message, or ANY message really THAT important to take away from the person that you’re with at that moment in time?
Modesty Is Needed
In the world that we are living in today, there are women walking around with clothes that are barely covering their body parts. What happened to the days gone by where women dressed conservatively? I’m not suggesting that women wear turtlenecks all the time or dresses that sweep the floor. What I am suggesting is that women cover their body parts!
In this day and age more and more people are getting plastic surgery. From breast implants to even butt enhancers, the world has gone crazy for plastic surgery. If that is what you wish to do, more power to you. But, at least have the decency to cover your “private” parts.
Recently I went into my husband’s place of employment. He has only been at this place for two months, so my children and I were excited to see Daddy’s new office. He was excited for us to visit as well, and we soon began taking a tour around the two story office building. There is a separate business within the same building that handles residential type calls for heating and air, while my husband works on the commercial side. He still took us down there to introduce us to the staff. It didn’t take but a minute for my daughters to whip their heads as discretely as they could around to look at me. I knew immediately why they had this reaction. One of the “ladies” in the office was dressed in knee high boots, jeans, and a big sweater. The only thing was that this sweater had the biggest neck we’ve ever seen. It was big enough that four people could have fit through it. And can you guess WHY she was wearing such a big necked sweater? Of course … she had fake boobs that she wanted to flaunt … and when I say that this big necked sweater barely covered … I am NOT exaggerating! She left very little to the imagination! As if it wasn’t enough that she was barely covered, she’d laugh and slap her knee so her boobs were even more in our face and falling out of her big necked sweater.
We exchanged pleasantries with this “lady,” and then made our way down the hall to go into meet my husband’s co-workers. Before we did, though, my 18 year old daughter asked, “MAMA! WHY was she dressed like that?!”
Why, indeed!
There is NO sense in this whatsoever! Yes, I realize she paid for the fake boobs. Yes, I do realize that the majority of the men in the service department where she worked gathered around for the free show she was offering. THANK GOD my husband does not work in that department and is NOT one that is gathered around with his mouth gaped open while staring at what you just can’t help but see because they are right there in your face. (At least he’d better NOT be one of them!)
Imagine giant grapefruits on your chest pushed so high up in that sweater that it’s spilling out the top of it. Yes, that is what it looked like. Even my 10 year old daughter commented as such. They do not look real AT ALL … yet so many women walk around flaunting their fake boobs in their barely there tops. Men flock to them because they are visual creatures that just cannot control themselves (~notice the sarcasm~)! Men CAN if they only choose to do so!
This bothered me a great deal, especially with what came out last year in our family. The struggles men face … why? Because “sex sells.” We are told that, and the porn industry just keeps putting it out there as well as magazines with images of women with fake boobs that eagerly pose nude. We would have expected this had we walked into a strip joint or a restaurant that, unfortunately, we have in town where women walk around in tight, low cut shirts with their stomachs showing wearing tight shorts to match. It’s such a shame that there are even places like this around. Yet we did not go into an establishment such as that. We merely went into a HVAC contractor’s office … and this is what we see?
I thought about this for a few days, reviewed the employee handbook that my husband brought home a few months ago, and then I decided after reviewing their sexual harassment policy that something HAD to be said about this.
After speaking to my husband, he agreed that it needed to be addressed with the owner of the business. I said either you address it, OR I WILL, but I am not sitting back quietly while this goes on at your work place … ESPECIALLY with the struggles he has had in the past. NO WAY! We have come too far in our recovery with our marriage for THIS to happen. I won’t accept it. NOPE, NOT HAPPENING!!!!
My husband said the owner comes in early before the office staff, and he leaves to go to other jobs before the staff comes in so chances are that he didn’t know that she was dressing like this. OR, if he did, he did not realize it was this bad. I know that the other coworkers noticed, though, and it has to make them feel uncomfortable. Besides that, it just is NOT professional attire! This person works with the public and is projecting an image for the company. This is most certainly NOT the kind of image I would want any one to portray for MY company, that’s for sure!
My husband requested to speak to his boss early Monday morning. His boss was very interested to see what was troubling my husband, and so he began to tell him some of the above that I mentioned in this post. The owner seemed unaware of the situation but said he would address it immediately. He took it very seriously when my husband brought up the topic by saying that modesty is needed in the residential side! Yea, no kidding! He went on to talk about the strict sexual harassment policy that is in place there and that this is just asking for trouble, not to mention the lost production time for the service guys who are in that office getting their eyes full instead of doing their work! The owner picked up immediately where my husband left off on the legal aspect of it as well, and he assured my husband once again that it would be addressed.
Much to our surprise, when the human resource lady got to work, the owner called her in to have a discussion. Then, she went around to every department to speak with them individually about the dress code. Of course, she could not single anyone out, that is why she had to speak to the individual departments together, but the “lady” would have to be brain dead not to know that this was directed at her!
The human resource lady spent a great deal of time reviewing the dress code and making sure that everyone understood. Upon arriving to work on Tuesday, everyone had a revised dress code policy in their inboxes prohibiting low cut tops, see through tops, tank tops, spaghetti straps (unless covered by a jacket or sweater), leggings, spandex, heels 4″ or taller, etc.
BRAVO!!!! BRAVO!!!!!
Well handled, indeed.
Needless to say, I am very pleased with the way this company addressed the issue and the manner in which they did so. I feel stronger than ever about the owner’s position that he has taken with his staff and how he has zero tolerance for this type of improper dress attire and conduct at work. He has earned more respect from me and my family by the way in which this was handled. Sadly, at a place I worked for ten years, they allowed a lady with fake boobs to continue to dress inappropriately with barely-there-tops when she had to interact with the public as well. I am not sure why she was allowed to dress in this manner, and I am happy to not be working there in that type of an environment any longer.
Modesty is needed.
I am very proud of my daughters in realizing the inappropriateness in the way that this “lady” was dressed at work. If she was going to a party, maybe … although I still think she was showing a little too much skin. But this certainly was not appropriate for work, and I am glad it was addressed. I’m sure she is very proud of her fake boobs. She can admire herself in the mirror at home or dress to impress at a party … but she needs to cover herself when at work! Plain and simple.
Have you talked to your children about modesty?
Connection
Have you ever met someone and instantly you felt a connection with them? Not just any ole connection, though. A connection of the heart. That is what I am talking about. Like souls drifting through the ages that have found each other once again. That kind of connection. Oh, it is a beautiful thing when this happens.
I have felt this a few times in my life. From meeting the love of my life in high school but not yet realizing that he was “The One” until we reconnected several years later. Then, it was cemented in my heart, mind, and soul. I knew … without a shadow of a doubt … that I would spend the rest of my life with him. He would be my happily ever after.
It happened again with my horse. As strange as it may sound, I felt a special connection to her when I first saw her.
I will never forget that day.
We contacted the owner who had this beautiful paint horse for sale. Eagerly, we drove two hours to her stables to take a look at this mare.
As we pulled up to the stables, I could not get out of the vehicle fast enough. I was so excited to see this horse. No, I didn’t want to buy just any ole horse or the first horse we looked at. She had to be extra special before I would make her mine. I went into this with my eyes wide open being as realistic as I possibly could about the situation. Even still, I couldn’t help but be excited by it all.
As we approached the stall where she was kept, she looked over her shoulder at me with her eyes reflecting the tenderness in her heart. She allowed me to walk beside her and extend my hand out to pet her plush sorrel and white coat. Yes, she was so beautiful standing there, but it wasn’t her outward beauty that had me sold the moment I laid eyes on her. It was her gentle nature and the tenderness in her eyes reflecting the depth of her willing soul. Just a few minutes of interacting with her, and I knew she and I had a connection.
Ah, but we could not go by looks alone. We had to see how she would ride. I hadn’t had any lessons at this point in time, but I knew how to ride a horse from previous experience on vacations. We always made sure to pick a vacation spot that had a horse ranch nearby. I knew this would be different though, as there is a lot involved with horse ownership than what meets the eye. It is indeed different when you’re on vacation with everyone else doing the work for you at the ranch.
We placed the saddle on her strong back and lead her into the arena. I put one foot into the stirrup and lifted myself up and over her until I was positioned in the saddle. With my helmet on and the reins in my hands, I was ready to see how this mare rode.
We made a few rounds in the arena before I was instructed to “squeeze” her with my legs to make her go into a trot. Having never trotted before, I was nervous feeling as if every butterfly in the world now resided in my tummy. I gritted my teeth, sat firmly in my saddle attempting to use my “seat bones” and squeezed her with my feet on both sides of her rib cage. This mare went immediately into a slow trot around the arena. I felt alive and as if new life had been breathed into me as I experienced my very first trot on this gorgeous, yet gentle, mare. I could contain myself no longer as I smiled as widely as I possibly could as we continued around the arena still in a trot. Joyful laughter escaped my lips as we made another lap around with her taking such good care of me. I didn’t try to lope (Western term) that day (also known as canter in the English world). I knew I would need lessons before I even attempted that, but I was sold. I knew right then and there that I had to have this beautiful girl so I purchased her right there on the spot.
Her name most certainly matches her disposition – Sugar – for she is the sweetest horse I have ever encountered.
I have had the privilege of owning this gorgeous girl with a long, flowing white and sorrel mane with perfectly positioned white patches on her sorrel sides for over a year now. Although we have come to be the owners of several more horses, Sugar is my baby. She is my pride and joy; the one I feel such a connection to still to this very day. I can’t imagine my life without her and find myself telling her repeatedly how much I love her. Oh, yes, I am so thankful to have found this horse and for the connection we share!
This post was inspired by Karen’s Tuesday At Ten.
