What Would Charlene Say?
Three Easy Habits for Gracious Living
Etiquette and Style Editor, Mother, Grandma and Champion of Civility.
Charlene Nielsen, my beloved Mother-in-Law and Editor here at Premier Etiquette, joined the angles in heaven on May 4, 2014. If I were to ask mom what we can do today to feel better about our situation, she’d recommend the following daily habits, which I would like to share with you.
- Get Dressed. In spite of a bald head, pale skin and being at war with the gremlins (as we called them), mom got dressed every day. She styled her hair and wigs and she never left her house looking as if she just rolled out of bed. “Get up, get dressed! You never know who you might meet!” says Charlene. I’d like to add that pajamas are made for bedtime, not for wearing out in public.
- Smile! Smiling doesn’t come easy to some folks, but it did for Charlene! She woke up with a smile, she slept with a smile. She made the miserable smile even when they didn’t want to. Smiling at those who annoyed or troubled her was commonplace. “People, how hard is it to smile? Ghosh”, says Charlene. It takes more muscles to frown than smile.
- Give Thanks. She never complained – at least out loud – to me about surgery or another round of chemo/radiation. She didn’t whine to the doctors, her nurses or the assistants. In fact, Charlene frequently expressed to her oncologist the following statement: “Thank you for taking care of my family and me. I’ve learned so much and I am fascinated about these helpful treatments for people like me”. If it weren’t for cancer, I wouldn’t know all you great people.” Leave it to Charlene to be thankful for her situation while her entourage uncomfortably awaited the reading of CAT scans.
Charlene Nielsen found the silver lining in everything and everyone.
Giving thanks for each day spent with mom is easy, but missing her is painful. Her daily practices are now habit for our family and it can be for yours, too
Which habit do you want to adopt? Which habits do you wish more people would practice?
©Tiffany Nielsen | Premier Etiquette. All Rights Reserved.
Tiffany Nielsen, Founder and CEO of Premier Etiquette, is your favorite Etiquette Lady and Personal Stylist. She lives in Exeter, CA with her husband, David and travels nationwide representing ideas and strategies to help solve social and business faux pas. You can attend Tiffany’s upcoming program, Mother May I on May 27 and 28th from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. at Brandman University in Visalia, CA or in Bakersfield. The program cost is $34.00.
