Communication is a 2-Way CONVERSATION

What a Day... Many of you know my husband. He is a good man, hardworking and strong, hot-headed and belligerent, but someone who would give you the shirt on his back if you asked. He has helped me raise two of the finest boys --well, men --I have ever known. He cares for his family with sometimes the last 2% of energy he has. This man has worked in the same job for the past 23 years. He works hard, making things lovely and beautiful and something to be proud of. He works in our city's beautification department which I will not name. Before he started there, he owned his own landscaping/designing business, but when I was pregnant with our children we experienced one of the worst droughts to date and he lost thousands in revenue. So he took down his shingle and went to work for the establishment, to make certain his new babies and wife would have what they needed. After our boys were born so early I understood how important his sacrifice for our family really was. Today he begins his month-long vacation. He earns vacation faster than most because of the dedication he has shown over the years. He's worked for countless bosses, administrators, managers, departments, but has outlasted them all. All of this makes it so difficult to work in a department that has changed vastly and work for those much less experienced-- albeit college educated. He grew up very unlike me. We were average, lower-middle class people living in a house in the boonies. He grew up with his parents owning their own businesses, taking vacations to Spain and Hawaii and living in the classiest of neighborhoods. They always had the newest cars and electronics, went to the best schools and didn't brag about how blessed they really were. Even now, he daily goes to lunch at his mom (82) and dad's (91) to check on them. Don't get me wrong. He's no angel and he is one of the hardest people to get along with I've ever met!! But I love him and his faults are no worse than mine. That's what makes today so difficult. This proud, hardworking man was treated like a child in front of others. He was discussed by the "garden club" as if he was less than human. And because of these 'ladies' acting out as such the powers that be showed what kind of unconnected fools they were. So I sat and listened to him when he came home, boiling mad and indignant. So if you know him and you have seen the work he has done over the years, tell him. If you see him on the street or at church or even out at a restaurant, tell him how noticed his hard work is. Respect is something we have stopped giving others, for some reason, but unless it is destroyed for a reason everyone deserves it. EVERYONE.