All of us can learn a fundamental lesson from our military families: You don't need to wear a uniform to serve your country. We all have something to contribute to the life of this nation."
- excerpt from First Lady's Address To Families
Tina's take ~~
We should all step forward and contribute to our community and in turn our Nation. We are at a critical time in our Nation! We have become complacent with laziness, stealing, blaming, and making excuses. We have been failing and falling behind for many years, is it any wonder that we are in the current economic state that we are in? Own your own downfallings and shortcomings and change ... or move out of the way and let those that you have been standing in the way get past. Don't stifle them. If we spend less time on blame and more times on ourselves then we will see a more productive society.
Hold the door, say thank you, smile, wave, buy someone's coffee, help someone with their groceries! Teach your children to respect their elders; but also hold places of authority accountable. This is what checks and balances are all about!
Teach your children honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion. Make sure you are approachable for anything! SADD is a great ever-evolving organization based on the changing times, that offers support and even Contracts For Life that you and your child sign. These are great tools to aid in the communication of tough subjects with your child.
We can all make a change now .... but it has to start today ... tomorrow the road will be longer to travel back.
~ Tina Shifflett, Proud Army Spouse and Brat
