Baby steps: Learning to respect

'R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means it me...' In the words of the Diva of Soul Aretha Franklin, R-E-S-P-E-C-T is a powerful action and something that I was taught by my mother. Now, I know what some of you are going to say: You were born in the '80s. What do you know about respect? Well, my mother is a baby boomer and was taught by her mother what respect is. She then instilled it into my sister and me.

As a single mother of two, my mom had her hands full, but she made sure that my sister and I knew right from wrong and how to behave in public and how to treat our elders. I am saddened to say that not everyone in my generation was taught this, and even worse, others in my generation are not teaching it to their children.

Earlier this week I went to see a movie with one of my friends. I am an avid reader and have read all of "The Hunger Games" books, and I couldn't wait to see the movie. For those of you who don't know, "The Hunger Games" is a teen book series that caters to ages preteen (12) and up, so needless to say, there were a few teenagers in the theater, even though the movie had been out for a while.

The theater gets dark and the previews start and a hush comes over the crowd -- a hush that lasted only until the first preview was over. Sitting behind me were two girls, probably around 14, sitting with one of their mothers. I want to state for the record that I am not an old fuddy-duddy. I like to comment every once in a while on a part in a movie, especially if it is a movie that I have been looking forward to seeing, such as this one. What I do not do is talk loudly in a quiet theater, kick the seat of the person in front of me or even text my friends during the whole movie so that there is a glow from the row behind or in front of me.

I turned around twice and hushed the girls, while they just glared at me. I think it really got to me when during a tender moment one of the girls cried out "Ewww, kissing!" and then they broke into giggles.

The whole time these girls were misbehaving, I kept thinking, 'Why is their mother letting them act this way?' My mother would never have let me act that way in public, let alone a place where you are required to be quiet and respectful. I used to think that my mom was mean and never let us have any fun. Now, as a mother myself, I realize that she was just trying to instill in me what I would need to be a responsible adult.

Thank you, Mom, for not letting me chew with my mouth open, for making me say please, thank you and excuse me. Thank you for teaching me to give up my seat for someone older than me and to hold the door open for others. I appreciate all that I learned from you and hope that I am able to pass it on to Cooper. He already says please and thank you, so I hope I am on the right path and that he can grow up with the sense of respect that I did.

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Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Mo., came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that by age 25, she'd be married with a baby and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a first-time mom -- one who's still a girl trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.