“One of the Lucky Ones”
If you’re like me you’re one of the lucky ones, born and raised in the 50’s and 60’s when life was a lot simpler and us kids didn’t think we knew so much, so we asked our parents. My dad was a wealth of knowledge and advice, but he didn’t just lay it out to you all the time – he waited for just that appropriate moment or circumstance so that the point he made was so much clearer. If I got in trouble or made a mess of things he would say, “Jerry, you didn’t get yourself into this mess overnight, so don’t expect it to be fixed overnight. In other words, “you reap what you sow, and the reaping always takes longer than the sowing” – a genuine lesson to be learned today that so many just don’t get.
Another of my Dad’s favorites was, “Son, the best lessons learned are those that hurt the most, but don’t kill you”. In other words, “This may hurt a lot, but you’ll never forget the pain, and that painful memory will be a help to you in the future should you consider repeating your same mistake.” Of course, no matter how hard our parents tried, we still never got it all, and for so many of us, we are still learning, even today.
In the 1960’s there was this TV show, “Leave It To Beaver”. It was about a normal family with a father, Ward, who was always there to teach the boys how to do things and, when they got in trouble, to help them understand just where they had gone wrong. There was the mother, June, who was always there to feel the boy’s pain, to comfort them as only a mother can do, and to help keep Ward calm whenever the boys took him to the height of frustration. There was Wally, the older, more athletic son; and, of course, there was Theodore “Beaver“ Cleaver, kind of a nerd kid that never seemed to be able to stay out of trouble.
I loved that show as a boy, and today as I catch an episode on reruns, I still like to watch it. But what I notice now is that there was always a subtle moral and life message wrapped inside of each episode. The truth is this; I miss my Mom and my Dad. They are both gone to Heaven now and I know that I’ll see them again, but I miss my Mom’s gentle touch and reassuring words, and I miss the lessons of wit and wisdom and example imparted by my Dad.
I would like to encourage those of you who still have children at home to not miss those opportunities to teach your children; to find some of those little life lesson quips and sayings that you heard as a kid and then pass them on. In case it’s been so long since you heard any good ones, here’s a few words to impart compliments of one of our U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln.
Regarding his ancestry he said, “I don’t know what my grandfather was; I am more concerned to know what his grandson will be”.
Regarding the character of a person he said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it – the real thing is the tree.”
In the matter of bravery and cowardice he said, – “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”
Regarding duty Abraham Lincoln said, – “Let us have faith that right makes might and, in that faith, do our duty as we understand it.”
Regarding his relationship with God he said, – “I’ve been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go.” Just a few thoughts to jog your memory.
So, parents, especially dads, ask yourself this question, “What do I wish I had learned earlier in my own life that I didn’t? And what can I say to my own children today that will help their tomorrows?”
Then find a way to pass that wisdom on. But hurry, your time is almost gone!
