Happy Mother's Day...

Hi Bay-bee!

Well Mother's Day Weekend ended yesterday. It certainly brings a whole new perspective this year with Sheri being a soon-to-be mother. We spent the Sunday cleaning my mom's basement. After 5 kids and 30 years, that was a heck of an undertaking.

Today, we had our second doctor's visit with Dr. Piquard. She put up the ultrasound to hear your heartbeat again. You are 160 beats per minute. (You were at 167 bpm at the first appointment). It still gives me chills to hear your heart beat. Too cool.

Sunday would have also been your grandpa's (my dad's) 70th birthday! May 11. He didn't make it to hear your heartbeat, but I know that with every heartbeat, he is there. You will hear a lot about him and he lives on as I honor him. You live as long as there is someone there to remember you. You will see that making an impact with other people is what truly makes life worth living. But for now, it's about staying healthy buster. Keep that heart beating as fast or slow as you need it and thanks for letting up on mom. She is feeling a lot better now.

Today, it's about a few other etiquette items. We discussed "Please" and "Thank you". Let's chat about "Excuse me." What you will find about this phrase is that it has many uses. Such as:

You say this before you get up from the dinner table. At which you will be wearing a shirt, shoes, no hat, and both feet under the table (I struggled with that one as a kid... meals were like temporary pit stops between ball-playing times. :).

You accidentally burp loud enough for the neighbors to hear you. You say, "Excuse me."

Your mom (or dad) is on the phone. You say, "Excuse me." Mom or dad will cover the phone and let you know how much time before we'll be able to attend to your needs. You will wait patiently. We will be very proud of you for doing this. Then, we will hang up the phone probably faster than we normally would have because we want to help you. But you must please let us get off the phone before attending to your needs. Thank you.

You accidentally burp up some of that delicious baby food onto your Uncle Rob's shoe. You would say, "Excuse me."

Isn't this a cool phrase? It allows you to show manners after a bodily function (malfunction?) and also allows you to get attention in the finest form.

Example using all three phrases: "Mom, please let me help you clear the table. Thank you for that excellent meal. Excuse me (as you get up)."

To Your Success,

Bay-Bee's Papa (Michael)

P.S. And to all those mothers out there, a most sincere and understanding Happy Mother's Day! :)