No Matter Our Age, Our Parents are Still Watching Us

Every morning, as a part of my normal routine, I get my Diet Mountain Dew from the local convenience store and drive through McDonald’s to get my Egg McMuffin. Almost every single time, the routine is uneventful and probably boring if anyone were following me. But this morning something happened that made me think a little bit more about these morning repetitious activities.

Today, when I went to go pay for my Egg McMuffin, the wonderful woman who’s there during the weekdays gave me back an extra dollar in change. The drive-through was full and people were backed up, so I’m sure her mind was in several places. But the real question then became what am I going to do about it? 

My immediate thought was something my parents had told myself and my two sisters growing up... (in mom’s voice), “You never know when your father or I are actually watching and you don’t know it.” The simple statement is a mantra about morals, ethics, and behavior. The real question is “What do you do about a situation when no one’s looking?”

While giving the dollar back was easy, it caused me to think about the rest of my morning. I go into the same convenience store every morning at about the same time for the Diet Mountain Dew. How do I treat the staff there? Am I friendly? Do I greet them and know their names? At McDonald’s, when I pay the same woman every morning, do I thank her and appreciate her service? Or, during the day on business calls, do I start my conversations with something personal, asking how someone’s doing in this crazy world, or do I just jump into business?

I figure most of the time no one knows what someone else does. But I appreciate thinking about Mom and Dad always being “around the corner” and knowing that doing the little things, the right things, are important for self-worth... and maybe making someone else’s day just a little bit better as