Etiquette

My Grandma Greta was born in Norway and died in 2005 here in the US. Greta was the classiest lady I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. My grandma could work a room and have everyone fall in love with her within the first 20 min she entered. She would float from here to there, seeming to have the same conversation, but with each person she would pick one thing to compliment, extol in them, ask about, or engage. Greta made coffee like know ones business, she was the coffee queen. Greta baked and cooked, she could serve hundreds or just a few, but the plate was always pretty. Nothing seemed to be an effort for her, and she always had such poise and grace.

My Grandma taught me how to eat properly, when one hand in your lap. How to set a table, how to eat something you hated and not let anyone know your true feelings of the meal. My grandma taught me what it looked like to be a true lady. Not to let all the credit go to her, my mom reinforced the lessons and my step mom drilled them for a solid foundation of Etiquette.

Etiquette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette

Wikipedia

Etiquette (/ˈɛtɨkɛt/ or /ˈɛtɨkɪt/, French: [e.ti.kɛt]) is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group.

This day in age, I am afraid this is a lost art form. A lost code or language that may never be extolled to the grandeur it was back in the day. The movie 'Mona Lisa's Smile' depicts some of the Etiquette expected from women for women by women.

I found out on Facebook a family member died Friday. Someone I had known my whole life. I have not been very close with this person during my lifetime, but they were family. Finding out on FACEBOOK was not what I had expected while I scrolled through the latest Cat Video or picture of why women live longer than men or pictures of my friends new selfies.

I called and left a message with my mom who did call me back to confirm and reminisce a bit. This leads me to my rant. WHY DID I FIND OUT ON FACEBOOK? WHY COULDN'T ANYONE CALL???? 

Back in the day the phone would ring in the middle of the night to hear bad news about someone not coming home, or a police officer would come to your house even. People were sensitive to others with bad news. Did that go away? Have we become so De-sensitized to bad news that it has become acceptable to tell the world what you know immediately on Facebook without that sensitive understanding of how the news might impact the people you tell?

I was sad-but more than that I was sad that this is what we as a people group find acceptable behavior. I am hence not going to share this post on Facebook like I normally do, because it would be insensitive. 

This leads me to list proper Etiquette with social media and technology: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-etiquette/

I hope that someday, my children will read this and thank me for teaching them social etiquette, like I am thankful to my grandma for teaching me so much about how to be a proper lady.