We Believe in Being Honest

Will Rogers said - Live so that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving. - President Faust

Here is where I have honesty problems: I hate to be embarrassed and prefer to make up a story then get busted. I also have a tendancy to not speak up when I should. Luckily I have little kids to keep me in line. Not too long ago we were at WalWart and after filling our cart, then unloading each item onto the conveyer belt while keeping the gum out of John's hands and hair, we paid for our loot and headed to the car.

At the car I buckled Emily and John in their seats (not a small task) and unloaded the groceries when I noticed a pack of stickers stuck to the seat of the cart. I knew that I had not paid for the stickers but I did not want to go back into that black hole of a store. Emily also saw that the stickers were not in a shiney white bag and asked if we had paid for them. I cannot sneak anything past that girl. So I unbuckled the kids, loaded them back in the cart and got back in line (giving in to the begging for gum this time) and paid for the stickers. I'm glad I did, but I remember thinking it wouldn't have really mattered to the store if I had just taken them. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt WaWa's bottom line, but who knows, it could have led me down the slippery slope to armed robbery and hard time.

Another time I was shopping at Sam's Club (that guy may as well just direct deposit nathan's check right into their register.) It was late, Nathan was deployed, and I had all the kids. Looking back, this was when John was a baby, and taking all the kids to the store would give me palpatations (I'm usually better now.) As I checked out I clicked the button for cash-back. But I left the story without the mullah. I didn't notice until I had the kids in bed, and by then it was too late to do anything, and Nathan was too far away to ask for help. (I should mention that this was the 2nd time this had happened in a few months and I was sooooooo embarrassed about it)

In the morning I was trying to decide if it was worth it to take my crumpled reciept into the store and ask for cash (would they think I was running a cash-back-scam and blacklist me?) when the phone rang. It was an accountant from Sams' who found a problem with a register - it had $40 too much at the end of the night, and she had noticed that I had asked for that amount, and did I recieve it. I told her that I didn't get the money, but hadn't know what to do. She was very nice, and honest, and made me feel like I wasn't too big of a dork. I just had to go in and pick up the money, no questions asked.

There is honesty and decency in the world.

Chosing to be honest when no one is looking is the best.

I hope I don't get the shakey voice during my talk tomorrow.