Attitude is everything

I was told as a child that I would not go far in life with my attitude. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. My attitude has served me well all these years. It is what drives me to finish something when others tell me it is stupid to try. It is what drives me to work hard and show people just how wrong they were.

My attitude may have been a problem for my teachers, but it was not a problem for me. I got my work done. I handed assignments in on time. Yet I was chatty and somewhat sassy. More so as I got older. I hated being scolded in elementary school , but it did not stop me from doing whatever I had been scolded about. That is perseverance. That is from my attitude. When my classmates called me names, I wanted to run and cry. I didn’t though. I stood there and let them dish it out. Eventually I could just ignore them. Again, my attitude served me well. It is what made me want to knock their blocks off, but also gave me the strength to just walk away.

When I was in middle school I did my best to blend in. However, I had no problem at all telling a boy that I liked him. Even an older boy. That would be my attitude again. Pushing me to stand out, while I was still begging to be invisible. I did as little work as possible to still maintain a decent grade. I suppose that was my attitude as well. It was telling me that I was smart. Not only smart, but smart enough to know that I didn’t have to do everything I was told in order to appear smart on my report card.

In high school I had one teacher who told me I had better watch the attitude I slip into. Little did I know how that attitude would come in handy later. I didn’t care what the other kids were wearing. I wore what I wanted. I did what I wanted. I combed my hair the way I wanted. More attitude. I was not invited to attend parties. I did not attend parties and drink. I didn’t care though. That wasn’t ME. I had attitude. I didn’t need alcohol to be able to have fun.

Later, I married a man whom I thought loved me. Maybe he really did. My mother was not all that thrilled with my decision to get married. I pulled out my trusty attitude and forged ahead. I used to “butt heads” as they say, with my then husband quite often. My attitude was the problem. At least that’s what I was told. I think he was the problem. He didn’t want to accept my attitude as a part of me and I didn’t want to live without it. So I learned to live without him instead. My attitude is what got me through the times when everyone told me how stupid I was to leave him. It is the reason I was able to just hang up the phone when I was ready to end the conversation. My attitude was one of my few companions at that time.

By the time I left my marriage I had two small children to raise. I stuck out my attitude and found an apartment and moved on with my life. I got back in school and paid the bills and took care of the children. There was no way I could choose not to do any one of those three things. So when things got tough, I got sassy and took on the world. I won. I am still here, am I not? Then yes, I won.

Raising children alone is not small task. There is nobody but you to wake them, dress them, feed them, take them to school, feed them again and tuck them in at night. Even though there were times I was sure I would go insane doing this alone, I still did it. It was my plucky spirit that helped me through. Plucky spirit is really just another word for attitude.

A new man arrived in our lives, mine and the children’s. As we spent time together, getting to know one another, he embraced my attitude instead of trying to break it. He sassed back at me. He gave me attitude. Even in our attitudes, or ‘tude as my then 2 year old called it, he held my hand, embraced my soul, and loved me. He loved me because of my perseverance, my intelligence, my individuality, my strength, my attitude, not despite it all. I am now married to him. He is a wonderful husband with as much attitude as I have and more. A mate with fire, spirit, attitude…I could not ask for more than that.

As you can plainly see my attitude has stuck with me all these years. It brought me to where I am today. I could not have survived without it. The next time you are tempted to tell your child, or friend, or anyone to get rid of the attitude, think twice. It may be the very glue that holds them together. I don’t know who I would be today if I did not have that attitude. That's ok though, because I really don’t want to know.