Today, I am a Ma'am

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A few years ago my son got his first job waiting tables at a new diner in our area. The morning of his first day on the job I gave him what I consider an excellent piece of advice regarding customer service. More specifically, I gave him a bit of advice about waiting on his female customers. I told him, regardless whether a woman appears to be 21 or 81, if you want to get a good tip, avoid calling her "ma'am". Ladies over 35, am I right? If I get a "Ma'am" could I get you another cup of coffee?" my first thought is something decidedly less Christian than, "What an attentive server!" To me the word, "ma'am" always conjured up images of a woman whose hobbies revolved around yarn. A homebody whose idea of a night out was heading to Bob Evans at 4:30 for a Knife and Fork Sandwich followed by reruns of Touched by an Angel.

The way I see it, being a "ma'am" is a state of mind. You can only be a one if you feel like one. I don't recall the first time I was referred to as a "ma'am", but I do remember the first time I felt like a "ma'am"-Tuesday, August 10th, 2010. After a stressful week that included fewer workouts, less sleep and more eating on the run than I'd done in years, I woke up Tuesday morning feeling as tired as I had when I'd laid down the previous evening. Several cups of coffee and a cool shower didn't help. My magnifying mirror only added to my misery. (Curse the inventor of the 5X magnification mirror!) Even my BFF, Cover Girl Advanced Radiance, couldn't cover the dark circles and bags under my eyes. I felt exhausted and completely stressed out. What went through my head? "OMG, today, I became a ma'am!" Until that moment, in my own little world, I was still a "Miss", but lifestyle choices over the previous week transformed me into a "ma'am" in the blink of an eye. Stress can cause us to make all sorts of sacrifices to our health at the very time when we most need to be mindful of our well-being.

I didn't bother finishing my make-up or hair that morning, but I did slip into one of my favorite summer dresses and headed to the grocery store to buy a cart full of healthy choices. With family coming to town for a visit, my son starting back to school in a matter of days and my oldest brother in the hospital, I knew the coming week would be no less stressful. I needed to arm myself with some healthy choices. Lots of produce went into that cart, including some of the overpriced pre-cut veggies. There would be no excuse for not eating right this week and one week of buying the pre-cut produce was not going to force me into financial ruin. That night I went to bed early and in the morning I worked out with one of my besties and our trainer. The two of them always make me laugh. Is there a better stress reliever than hanging out with friends and enjoying a few laughs? I think not.

There have been times in my life when I let stress invade my life like a parasite, but no more. When stress raises its ugly head, I'm ready to kick its butt. I refuse to let stress turn me into a "Ma'am."