Family Motto

Our Family has a motto.  Sometimes we forget our motto.  Sometimes we forget that we even have a motto.  When evening rolls around and we are all together my husband will sometimes ask our crew "what is our family's motto?"  Silence is the usual response.  The family motto was my husband's idea and I can sometimes see his frustration that none of us can remember this motto.  He reminds us what it is and a couple weeks later he asks what it is again, crickets chirp while we all search the empty spaces in our heads trying to recall the motto for our loving Father.  One time a scout-aged son of mine replied "Do Your Best!" but alas that is the boy scout motto not our family motto.  What's the motto with us anyways? (sorry, I can't resist a pun-op).  This week we were saying that our second motto should be the Lion King's motto joke "What's the Motto With You?" Then this morning I thought of something for our family's third motto.  As I went to spread butter on my waffle I looked at the sad sad state of our butter dish.  There was messy spreading of butter everywhere from last nights corn on the cob, crumbs were throughout.  "When I get some butter" I bragged, "I always try and shape the butter back into a cube taking away crumbs as I see them"  I believe in leaving the butter better than when I found it.  Sorta like the 'leave no trace' scout motto.  Our third motto ought to be "Leave the Butter Better."  It has a nice ring to it don't you think?

I think I have new motivation to remember our family motto this week.  Big Girl has encountered a neighborhood bully.  Let me describe him to you.  He often has a mohawk and rides around the block on his bike at high speed without helmet or shoes.  He's often the kid in class who can't sit still.  I've worked with him in school, and he struggles.  We have always treated him and his sisters (who are lovely) with kindness. Sometimes he makes my eyebrows raise and I think to myself "where is your mother!" as he rides on his stomach face first down the hill on a skateboard in the middle of the street.  I have sensed a bit of a crush on his part toward Big Girl and perhaps this is the reason for his new teasing at the pool.  Both he and a friend have been asking her repeatedly why she is swimming with the younger pre-team swimmers instead of being on the swim team.  It's starting to bug her.  So the other day I went up to him (he totally knows me so I felt more comfortable doing this) and asked why he kept asking her age if he already knew it.  He hasn't bugged her since.  T happened to be present when I jumped up out of my seat to remedy the situation.  He has a much cooler head than I.  He told me I needed to let these things go.  I argued that if you don't put a bully in his place it will only escalate.  And I also reminded him of our family's motto "All For One & One For ALL!"  I told Big Girl that the next time Mr Mohawk says anything to her she should remind him of her three older brothers and of the motto in our family.  But first I better remind the brothers what the motto is.

PS We also have a family SONG!  Everyone remembers the song.