Can I count on you???

Hi Bloggers,

Well here we go on the topic of dependability.  Over the last 50 years I have met a lot of people many dependable and some not so dependable.  When I was growing up all I knew was dependability.  My mother was the person who was always where she said she would be, when she said she would be.  I guess I had never really been let down.  I was kind of an only child.  I had a sister who was 20 when I was born.  She was getting married by the time I was 5 and my father had passed away so my mom and I just had each other.  My mother made sure that I was involved in many things.  She always had me to my activities on time and was there to pick me up when I was ready to leave.  You could always depend on dinner at 5:00p.m.  You could always depend on the fact that your laundry would be washed and ironed and that the house would be magically clean when I came home from school each day.  

I think that I carried many characteristics of dependability into adult life.  When I started to work I always found it easy to be on time and to finish any task at hand before leaving.  When I moved into management it was very difficult for me to understand how a person could want to have a job so bad or need one and not be dependable.  I have always picked up my kids on time, except when I forget about minimum days (lol) , yet when I was a foster parent I saw every form of undependability you can imagine.  Parents who profess that they miss their kids so much but cannot seem to make it to their visits.  I took care of children whose parents spend the grocery money on alcohol and drugs and leave their kids with cold cereal.

What I have learned from these scenarios is that much dependability is learned.  If you grow up in an environment where you have known nothing other than dependability most people then live their lives as dependable members of society.  Many of the kids that I had in foster care were very undependable.  They could not meet any type of a time line to prepare for school or any other events.  They saw no reason to turn in homework on time. They had no reason to meet friends when they said that they would.  

On the other hand my kids have done quite well.  My oldest daughter finished college on her own.  She married and had two children.  She has carried all of the dependability issues to her own family.  My oldest son gets to school on time and always to work and has been recognized for being a dependable employee. The younger ones are following in the footsteps of their older siblings.  

I also think that dependability can be somewhat learned.  Many children who lived with us and were taught how important these characteristics are changes somewhat over time.  They saw the importance of not letting others down especially when they knew how much they despised it happening to them.