My Most Valuable Lessons

Came From People Much Younger Than I

What I’ve Learned from People Much Younger

Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned have come from my children and grandchildren. A few that stand out:

Humility: When I write a new children’s poem or story and it finally feels done, like any self-respecting writer, I feel ... I was going to say ‘proud’, but it can’t be pride until it gets approved by the ‘experts’.

So then I read it to one or two of my literary critics (grandchildren). They’ll be honest, sometimes, painfully so. I know if they like it, that’s usually fairly accurate —-it’s good because they’ve said it is.

When they don’t like it, again they’re usually right … so I trust it needs more work.

The Value of Giving: I remember watching a little boy pick up a quarter someone dropped on the sidewalk. I saw the wonder in his eyes as he imagined what he could buy with his quarter.

He glanced up and smiled at his daddy, who was holding his hand.

“Maybe a gift for Daddy.”

Just by chance, there was a blind man sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against a building. Again, I could see on the boy’s face that something important was going on upstairs in his mind and, as he approached the blind man, he stopped.

With only a little hesitation, the boy dropped his precious prize into the blind man’s cup and he smiled, knowing in his heart he had done something good.

“The value of giving is not in the amount of the gift, but in the heart of the giver.” —-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Power of Patience: Have you ever noticed how what goes around comes around, if you’re patient?

I miss my mother every day, but when I’m sick, I miss her most. It was soothing, knowing she was there. I felt she could heal anything with her love.

Mama would hold me, assure me I would get better, then surprise me with a cherry Popsicle for my sore throat.

When I had a stomach flu, she steadied me as I stood over the toilet to be sick, and then ran a cool washcloth over my forehead after. Mama was just there, and it always made everything better.

It wasn't until I had children of my own that I fully understood why. I found myself repeating everything my mother did and I felt close to her all over again. You can't help but be soothing when your child is sick. Your heart is filled with love and concern and when they're sick, you intuitively know they need you even more.

Not long ago, my youngest daughter, nearly a thousand miles away, called. She and her four kids had strep throat. She gave them their antibiotic, tucked them into bed with a bedtime story, a kiss … and a cherry Popsicle.

Then she added, "I love you, Mom. I feel awful and I needed you, so I called to hear your voice. When I’m sick, I always miss you most."

Well, my friends, I've come full circle now. Tonight I think I’ll have a cherry Popsicle and savor the memory ...

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