I Value Integrity the Most

I grew up in a home where we were expected to always do the right thing.  If I made a mistake I was held accountable.  I have always had strong morals.

Having integrity was something that I have had since a very young child.  I was the child that decided to clean the house, haul firewood inside or cut the lawn without being asked because I knew my parents were working overtime and it would put a huge smile on their faces.  It felt good to do these things for others.  It was not often I was asked to clean my room or be nice to my sister.  I understood at a young age that I needed to do the right thing in a reliable way all the time.  There just was no other way for me.

To this day I crave fairness and I find it very hard to accept that some things just are not fair.  I struggle explaining this to my children.  As I am aging I am finding that I only want to surround myself with others who have integrity.  I want to spend my time with those who are honest and tell it like it is even if we disagree.  I have a huge aversion to the people who just want to tell me what I want to hear.  I would rather at this age have someone who is angry at me yell at me than pretend there is nothing going on.  I want the truth.

I value my friendships that are honest, fair and truthful.  I truly cherish those friends who are real and who know right from wrong.  I recently met a new friend who I connected with immediately.  She was real and had no problem standing up for herself.  She shares her opinions  but has no problem hearing others ideas.  Even if she disagrees she listens and then tells her side of the story.  She always hears what others have to say and then calmly says she disagrees but doesn’t get upset.  She is caring and she is a great mother.

We met at a horse clinic.  I loved the way she did what she wanted but was always respectful.  She also took care of me when I had a horse accident.  She hardly knew me but she could tell I was quite hurt and checked in with me often while I healed over the next few weeks.  I remember thinking that she was very like me.  She didn’t need to be asked to help.  She just knew and offered her time and energy.  From that day on I just knew we’d be good friends.

It’s always been tough for me to find great friends who had as much integrity as me.  For the past few months she’s been wanting to find a new younger horse.  I had always said that if she decides to buy one from a lady in Saskatchewan who also has integrity and is who I got my latest horse from I would go with her.  A few months later I kept my word and I even offered her my horse trailer like I said I would.  I would never stand anyone up and to be honest I was excited to go and honored to be asked.  We headed down the highway and never stopped talking or laughing for nine hours each way.  I truly was excited as she was to see the horses and bring home a horse who was to be her best friend.  I knew what that felt like and I couldn’t wait for her to have that feeling also.

We drove through bad storms but nothing was stopping us.  She was ready to come home with her new beautiful horse that she fully deserved and I was going to be a part of it.  That’s what good friends do no matter how long you know them.  Great friends with integrity are a true blessing and they need to be cherished.  I will only surround myself with caring, compassionate and loyal friends.  Life is too short for anything other than that.