I wonder how often people hate my guts?

Unfortunately, it’s probably a lot. I base that assumption on how often I complain about the driving of other people. Given that I’m a senior citizen who wouldn’t win any awards for her driving, people are undoubtedly complaining about me right and left.

Will you turn already? Are you waiting for a cop to give you permission? What, a few flakes of snow and you slow to a crawl? Pick a lane, willya? And make sure it isn’t mine!

You know, hating my guts.

I do the same thing, though I will brag that I really don’t ever hate anyone’s guts. But I do tend to not give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to driving. And I don’t know what I think I am when I complain out loud about a Baby Boomer’s driving. You know, the one driving the Buick? Because Buick aside, that could be me.

My sisters and brother and I don’t really get mad at each other. It’s not that we think everything we do is perfect. In fact, we often joke that at any given time, one of us might be in a fight with another of us but we will never know. We don’t want to even think about hating each others’ guts. None of us likes comflict.

Somehow, without us even paying attention, I think our parents taught us the Golden Rule: Don’t do unto others that which you wouldn’t want done to you. In other words, you put your pants on one leg at a time, just like they do. Be humble and kind.

Honestly, there’s really no magic to being a good person. The Bible tells us that the Israelites had to memorize and follow over 600 rules of to be considered a good person. Jesus made that all very simple by narrowing down all of those rules to two: Love God with your whole heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Seriously, that’s all I need to remember about the time that I’m complaining about the person ahead of me in the line to buy ice cream who doesn’t begin considering what flavor she wants until she’s being addressed by the cashier. I do things like that all the time, even if I don’t realize I’m doing it. Love and forgive that person just like I love and forgive myself.

I think that’s really what my siblings and I do for one another. We love and forgive.