2. "I have something to do with my family". Go ahead and call me on it, but how dare you question my loyalty to my family, you are such a bad person if you do AND you just might risk getting that ticked off phone call from my mother! I usually didn't have anything to do with my family, I was just unmotivated and lazy.
3. "I forgot". I didn't forget, but how do you argue against that? It was usually because I was..? You got it, unmotivated and lazy.
4. "My parents said I couldn't". Again, it isn't my fault, it is their fault if I had my way well I would be there. And if you question me, how bad of a person are you AND you risk the threat of a phone call from my mom...a very not nice one. Again? Unmotivated and lazy.
5. "I am going to be out of town". I wasn't more often than not, but it was before cell phones and it was virtually impossible to get hold of me if I didn't want you to. I wasn't out of town, just unmotivated and lazy.
When I hear these excuses my knee jerk reaction is to not believe them because of my own past. I realize that in some and maybe even many instances these are legit and true excuses, but because of my own past, I listen with leery ears.
It is amazing after I matured and actually found something that I wanted to do how unsick I was, how my parents didn't tell me I couldn't, how much I was in town, how I didn't forget, and how often I didn't do stuff with my family. It was because I found something that I loved to do in teaching and coaching. And I think because I realized how wonderful it was to be able to do many different things even jobs or sports I didn't enjoy or have at the top of my list.
I just wish now that back then, if I knew then what I know now, that I would have embraced many of the situations that I faced instead of ran from them. They built so much character for me as it is, it would have done even more so, or maybe not. Maybe the whole experience was part of my character building and understand who ultimately I would be.
