I learned at home and taught my children early on. The military didn’t teach me to say yes Ma’am/no Sir, please, thank you and you’re welcome. “Don’t let your pride get in the way of saying you’re sorry,” Grandma would encourage me.Ģ. Manners matter most. When we commit an offense we should quickly say we’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. No one’s perfect, I’d remind my children when they were frustrated with a friend or classmate. Here are some treasures I learned at my Grandmother’s knee and passed on to my babies:ġ. Apologize (and mean it). When my children came along I kept the tradition alive as we gardened together, talking and sharing, sweating and laughing. We’d talk about so many things working in her garden, and later sitting on the porch admiring our labor. Grandmother loved spring and gardening, and passed her passion on to me. They make their annual presence sometime around Easter in the U.S., and fill the nation’s capital with their pink and white delicate beauty. Spring brings happy memories of waiting with my Grandmother for the blossoms arrival. It gets warm a little earlier than on mainland Japan, and my beloved cherry blossoms have already bloomed and faded away. Spring’s here! I love how our tiny, green island awakens from cool and windy slumber as the refreshing rains come. Photo credit: Four Generations: my grandmother, mother, and daughter with me in North Carolina. Stay tuned for the final installment of my grandmother’s lasting legacy! I’m a stickler for serving vegetables, but yes a lot of times it’s chicken! It’s hot and usually ready to be set on the table at 6pm, and no cell phones are allowed. As a working Mom I treasure the dinner hour with my family, and taught them to make it their priority too. While other proteins were available I can say with certainty we ate chicken for dinner 99.9% of the time during my childhood. My colleagues find this amusing, but friends and family know the truth: Grandma cooked every day and every day she cooked chicken. As a child I never asked, “What’s for dinner?” It was always ready after school, and I ate it! If I became hungry in the evening I had a snack or a piece of fruit. Their father and I purchased the essentials, but they were responsible for the upkeep until they outgrew their clothing and gave them to younger friends or relatives.Ħ. Times have changed, but I like grandma’s mindset. My children learned to do their laundry and iron in middle school, and mend and tailor their clothes in high school. I had church, school, and “play” clothes with shoes, and knew the difference! Nothing was replaced unless I grew. She taught me to do my own laundry, and hang it outside on the clothes line. She fixed them, and taught me how to do it myself. Okay that’s a stretch, but my grandmother had a remedy for every stain, rip, or missing button. Today when my older children visit and make their beds right away I smile and whisper, “one thing done for today!”ĥ. “You see,” she’d say, “that’s one thing done today.” Years later, I would collapse with exhaustion (and relief) into the plumped pillows and cool sheets of my pre-made bed after an endless day of running behind infants and children. We got a jump start on the day by making the bed as soon as we got up. My grandmother really loved having guests! That meant you kept the living and bathrooms tidy and coffee on the stove. Enjoy her witty, southern twist on city living:Ĥ. What an incredible testimony! Today I present more sage wisdom from my family’s practical, down-to-earth matriarch. Grandma represents four generations of faith. I love sharing the timeless treasures I learned from my grandmother, taught my adult children and am currently teaching the last babe at home. This is the second of a three part series narrating my family’s living legacy. My thoughts returned to this series, and I’m so thankful of the good legacy I’ve been left to pass on to my children. Our Pastor reminded everyone that we’re all leaving some kind of legacy and it’s either a good or bad one. Happy Sunday! Today’s message in church was entitled: Leaving a Legacy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |