SuperMom Mentality

“Who likes sloppy Joe?” my kindergarten teacher asked with a scowl on her face.  “Yuck” “ooh” “nasty” were the replies of the other students.  I timidly raised my hand.  I was the only one.

Poor Joe.  It was our very first day of school and no one liked him, not even the teacher!  So maybe Joe was sloppy.  That didn’t mean that the teacher should point that out in front of the whole class!  That didn’t mean that the other kids should be allowed to pick on him!  That didn’t mean that he shouldn’t have a friend.  I felt so sorry for Joe.  I hadn’t met him yet, but I thought, “I’ll be his friend.”

It wasn’t until I got to the lunch room cafeteria and ended up being served slop on a bun did I discover my error.

Apparently, I’ve been an empathetic person from a very young age.  It was recently asked of me if I believed that empathy is an innate or a learned behavior.  It goes back to the age-old debate of nature vs. nurture.  But I think it’s a bit of both.  There have been sociopaths that have come from good homes, but just don’t have the capacity to understand or care about the feelings of others.  On the flip side, some great people have come out of horrible childhood situations.

Personally, I feel like my empathy was ingrained in me from an early age.  My parents both taught me the value of the golden rule:  do to others as you would like them to do to you.  If the teacher had asked, “Who likes sloppy Belle?” I would have hoped that someone would have raised his hand.

(October 29, 2015 –  twins 16 months)

Double Talk Quote: “Mommy, I love you, ‘Squidward is my best friend, Spongebob is a dumb idiot'” – Mica all in one breath (2/16/13 age 5)

Bible Verse: “…do to others what you would have them do to you…”  Matthew 7:12

Term that has Lost its meaning: Mystery Meat

Relatable Lyrics: “The Golden Rule” – Agapeland Three Ring Saturday Gingerbrook Fare

“The rule is gold because, it cost so much to break…”