Chivalry #RaisingBoys

We were at Publix today, in the parking lot about to leave, and this boy and his mom were waiting to cross, a car stopped to allow them to walk and he nodded his head and put his hand out. He must have been maybe 17/18 years old. And for some reason I thought 'how nice of him to acknowledge the driver'. Nothing special happened and nothing extra ordinary, just a simple nod really. But it got me thinking about what it is like to raise boys, and how.

I can say that my boys do stuff like that. I don't recall every teaching them, they have always just opened doors or let kids or ladies go first. They do little things like nodding to acknowledge and using everyday manners. For being kids, for being boys, they have a huge amount of compassion in the. 
They are still young so I hope they don't grow out of that. 
We happened to be at the same Publix the week prior and I was with one of my boys and he walked off. We were in the parking lot so I was like "what is he doing". I look over to call him back and he was helping an older lady into her car. He had opened the door for her and was standing there waiting to close it. The husband was also with her but he was putting the few bags they had into the car. 

How do you raise them to do things like that...help others in crosswalks, acknowledge others when they do something, open doors, and all those other basic chivalry things that boys are supposed to do. 
Then I think, well what happens if all that doesn't matter because the girls that are being raised are raised ladies? My brain over thinks sometimes lol. I guess this is just one of those times. 

chiv·al·ry

ˈSHivəlrē/

noun

noun: chivalry     - courteous behavior, esp. that of a man toward women.

• 
  
• courteous behavior, esp. that of a man toward women.