So out goes one year and in comes another.
2011 has been an amazing year for Polkadoodles and I've loved (mostly) ever minute of it, but New Year is always a time for reflection and to decide on whether you need to make changes in your life isn't it?
Hard work and determination go a long way in this life and Mr Doodles and I certainly know the former very well indeed. My parents always had a really strong work ethic so it's been drummed into me from a very young age. They had a milk round and another business whilst I was growing up and I was expected to help out as and when needed like most kids who grow up in a family business. I used to deliver milk as soon as I could carry a basket and whilst all my schoolfriends were lazing about on a Saturday morning watching cartoons and Tiswas or Swapshop I was collecting milk money from the age of 5-6 with my mum. She started off sending me to people who gave the right money each week, then to the people who always gave me the same money so she could give me pre-counted change but then very quickly I had my own cashbag and was giving out change at age 6! I have to say I got loads of gifts and tips from our customers at Christmas, they were all very generous, when I consider the age I was now I bet they couldnt' believe their eyes! On top of this my parents decided to build their own house for us having never laid a brick in their lives before so I also got to wheelbarrow bricks and breezeblocks around and help mix concrete and all the other stuff involved most days when I left school too. (Am making my parents sound like Dickensian slavedrivers, I did get to play too!) I just had chores to do - a lot of chores! I never did see an episode of Tiswas although I got an odd snippet whilst I was stood at someone's door waiting for someone to get their purse sometimes.
I detested those mornings and long days kicking my heels on a building plot with a vengeance, for making me miss out on a lot of fun but now I'm quite glad I had to do it (and boy, did I have to do it), it taught me very early on that money doesnt grow on trees and you have to work hard in life instead of waiting for someone else to come along and hand it to you on a plate. I wish more people had that same value for sure, it seems that more and more people are just standing there waiting to take take take all the time these days - a generational thing maybe? It seems a lot of people the generation below me are lacking a lot of core values these days but I suppose it was the generation that were kids in the 80's when everything was plentiful and loadsamoney was on the telly. No wonder really is there? They missed the 70's when everything was plastic, made in Hong Kong and you were posh if you had a colour telly and your mum could afford to buy an Arctic Roll once a month for dessert. MacDonalds was probably a type of Tartan and the most exciting part of Christmas was deciding which Annual you were going to ask for and whether you'd get a Sindy or a Barbie (remember the days when Barbie was just a slut with her ginormous EE cup and her ugly boyfriend, Sindy was the good girl next door and poor Pippa was the poor relation who lived down the road?)
My reflections for 2011? It's been a strange one really. I try not to have regrets. We all make mistakes and I just try and learn from mine quickly and move on. I think I'm quite a poor judge of character sometimes, I take people at face value and that often bites me on the arse quite frankly! So maybe my resolution for 2012 is to be a little more guarded and a little less trusting in future until someone has properly earned it. And I need to be a bit more tolerant, this is not one of my greatest features I have to admit. I try not to be judgemental but lets face it, we all slip on that one, who are we kidding, but tolerance I must try harder with.
So I would just like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and a big heartfelt thankyou for your support in 2011, Kris and I are very aware that without our customers we are very little indeed (something many other businesses would do well to remember) - we have another exciting year ahead so come on, bring it on!!
Happy New Year everyone! x
2011 has been an amazing year for Polkadoodles and I've loved (mostly) ever minute of it, but New Year is always a time for reflection and to decide on whether you need to make changes in your life isn't it?
Hard work and determination go a long way in this life and Mr Doodles and I certainly know the former very well indeed. My parents always had a really strong work ethic so it's been drummed into me from a very young age. They had a milk round and another business whilst I was growing up and I was expected to help out as and when needed like most kids who grow up in a family business. I used to deliver milk as soon as I could carry a basket and whilst all my schoolfriends were lazing about on a Saturday morning watching cartoons and Tiswas or Swapshop I was collecting milk money from the age of 5-6 with my mum. She started off sending me to people who gave the right money each week, then to the people who always gave me the same money so she could give me pre-counted change but then very quickly I had my own cashbag and was giving out change at age 6! I have to say I got loads of gifts and tips from our customers at Christmas, they were all very generous, when I consider the age I was now I bet they couldnt' believe their eyes! On top of this my parents decided to build their own house for us having never laid a brick in their lives before so I also got to wheelbarrow bricks and breezeblocks around and help mix concrete and all the other stuff involved most days when I left school too. (Am making my parents sound like Dickensian slavedrivers, I did get to play too!) I just had chores to do - a lot of chores! I never did see an episode of Tiswas although I got an odd snippet whilst I was stood at someone's door waiting for someone to get their purse sometimes.
I detested those mornings and long days kicking my heels on a building plot with a vengeance, for making me miss out on a lot of fun but now I'm quite glad I had to do it (and boy, did I have to do it), it taught me very early on that money doesnt grow on trees and you have to work hard in life instead of waiting for someone else to come along and hand it to you on a plate. I wish more people had that same value for sure, it seems that more and more people are just standing there waiting to take take take all the time these days - a generational thing maybe? It seems a lot of people the generation below me are lacking a lot of core values these days but I suppose it was the generation that were kids in the 80's when everything was plentiful and loadsamoney was on the telly. No wonder really is there? They missed the 70's when everything was plastic, made in Hong Kong and you were posh if you had a colour telly and your mum could afford to buy an Arctic Roll once a month for dessert. MacDonalds was probably a type of Tartan and the most exciting part of Christmas was deciding which Annual you were going to ask for and whether you'd get a Sindy or a Barbie (remember the days when Barbie was just a slut with her ginormous EE cup and her ugly boyfriend, Sindy was the good girl next door and poor Pippa was the poor relation who lived down the road?)
My reflections for 2011? It's been a strange one really. I try not to have regrets. We all make mistakes and I just try and learn from mine quickly and move on. I think I'm quite a poor judge of character sometimes, I take people at face value and that often bites me on the arse quite frankly! So maybe my resolution for 2012 is to be a little more guarded and a little less trusting in future until someone has properly earned it. And I need to be a bit more tolerant, this is not one of my greatest features I have to admit. I try not to be judgemental but lets face it, we all slip on that one, who are we kidding, but tolerance I must try harder with.
So I would just like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and a big heartfelt thankyou for your support in 2011, Kris and I are very aware that without our customers we are very little indeed (something many other businesses would do well to remember) - we have another exciting year ahead so come on, bring it on!!
Happy New Year everyone! x
