Eating Habits under Fire

Apparently I chew very loud and often with my mouth open! Well so I found out when I visited my boyfriends family in Europe! It was shocking to have my boyfriends sister pull me aside and try to teach me how to eat! I don’t understand French but I didn’t need to to get the picture that they thought I ate with the manners of a pig – snorting is a pretty universal language. It probably sounds funny telling it now but I was really upset at the time. Sebastian had obviously known what his family had been snickering about and was a bit embarrassed. I felt like my relationship was doomed because our upbringing were worlds apart and not just in the country sense.

I was born in Qld on a farm with three brothers so etiquette wasn’t at the top of the list. If you didn’t dig in quick at the dinner table there wouldn’t be much left after the boys took their share. Sebastian and I had met when he was backpacking around Australia so this was the first test of whether his family accept me and if we had a chance at being serious. Once I calmed down, I guess in a way it was a relief to know what all the funny looks had been about during the last few weeks.

Even after this relationship I would cringe thinking about this time. I realized that boyfriend or not my habits couldn’t be doing me any favours in general. It was hard to see this about myself but how hard could it be to change my manners if I wanted to? I decided to be aware of it from then on.

Sounds like a simple plan doesn’t it but these habits had been with me for years. I quickly fell back to the old manners even with my determination. This would be obvious when I’d notice the reactions around me - aaaaah! too late my inner Miss Piggy had shown up again.

I needed help with this I decided. If I couldn’t change a simple thing like this how could I ever feel in control of doing / getting what I want in life. So a friend introduced me to MindWatch. I’ve been using it now for just 4 weeks and it has made a huge difference. MindWatch helps me watch my manners! It’s like having my very own built in etiquette coach. I’ve made friends with my inner Miss Piggy but she’s back on farm where she belongs so I can be the Australian Princess that I am.