by Publisher | May 30, 2023 | Archives, Family, Featured, Parenting
A mother named Antoinette Kuritz shared this idea of hers and we sure can pick this up and apply it to our own kids. Antoinette says: From the time each of my children started school, I packed their lunches. And in each lunch I packed, I included a note. Often written on a napkin, the note might be a thank you for a special moment, a reminder of something we were happily anticipating, or a bit of encouragement for an upcoming test or sporting event. In early grade school, they loved their notes. They commented on them after school, and when I went back to teaching, they even put notes in my lunches. But as kids grow older, they become self-conscious, and by the time he reached high school, my older son, Marc, informed me he no longer needed my daily missives. Informing him that they had been written as much for me as for him, and that he no longer needed to read them, but I still needed to write them, I continued the tradition until the day he graduated. Six years after high school graduation, Marc called and asked if he could move home for a couple of months. He had spent those years well, graduating Phi Beta Kappa magna cum laude from college, completing two congressional internships
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by Publisher | May 15, 2023 | Archives, Family, Featured
The Other Grandma We were grandmothers together to two of the nicest grandkids anybody ever had. It makes great comedy on television for the two grandmothers to engage in rivalry, but that never happened with us. We both babysat—sometimes on the same day—passing those wonderful children between us with her sometimes coming to get them from me and I sometimes going to her home to pick them up. I liked her a lot and never doubted that she gave my grandchildren the best of love and care. Even after our children divorced, our relationship remained the same. Can you imagine how sad I was for my grandchildren when I recently learned that her cancer was terminal and she did not have much longer to live? It was heart-breaking for me because of those grandchildren. They were facing one of the most difficult losses of life at a time when it would be most devastating. When I saw my four-year-old granddaughter a couple of days later, I said to her, “Honey, I’m sorry your nana is so sick.” Perhaps she didn’t want to talk about it; perhaps she was busy playing with cousins, or perhaps she didn’t really hear me. All she replied was, “That’s okay.” The next day, when I was with her again, after a few minutes, she nearly
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by Publisher | May 7, 2023 | Archives, Family, Featured
A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waiting for him at the door. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?” “Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man. “Daddy, how much money do you make an hour? “That’s none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily. “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy. “If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.” “Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?” The father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you’re being so selfish. I work long, hard hours every day and don’t have time for such childish games.” The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After an hour or so, the
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by Publisher | Jan 27, 2023 | Family, Archives, Featured
A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough.” “Dad, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says. “We’re sick of each other and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her.” Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like h..l they’re getting divorced!” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this!” She calls Scotland immediately, and screams at her father, “You are NOT getting divorced! Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” She hangs up. The old man hangs up his phone at the other end and turns to his wife. “Sorted! They’re both coming for Christmas and they’re paying their own way.” While this anecdote may sound amusing, it also calls for sober reflection particularly in term of how we relate to our parents. Imagine how many times they must have patiently attended to our calls even for the
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by Publisher | Jan 19, 2023 | Family, Archives, Featured
I ran into a stranger as he passed by, “Oh excuse me please” was my reply. He said, “Please excuse me too; I wasn’t watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. “Move out of the way,” I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God’s still small voice came to me and said, “While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You’ll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.” By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went
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by Publisher | Oct 17, 2022 | Parenting, Archives, Family, Featured
1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that. 2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one! 3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do. 4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you. 5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too. 6. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake. 7. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change. 8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever! 9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make
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