All tagged family
A week or so ago, I sat in the gym of G.R. Whitfield for the Band and Orchestra Spring Concert. Whitfield has an extensive music program that engages students from fourth grade through eighth grade. My granddaughter Allison is one of the violinists in this year’s Fifth Grade Orchestra.
As many of you know, I have four adult grandchildren in their 20s. They are confronting the only reality of American life they have ever known, but I have lived through at least three or four transmutations of America – especially the American economy.
Every other year on the July 4th weekend, the descendants of Henry S. and Lady Belle Parker gather for a family reunion. Before this year, our last reunion took place in 2018. We set the next reunion for 2020 – and then 2021. Each time, COVID interfered. We decided to shoot for this July and finally made the reunion a reality.
Some things bear repeating, or at least expanding on, and that's what I am doing today. We recently celebrated Mother's Day, and now Father's Day is coming up on June 19. I want to look at this Day both from the perspective of a son as well of a dad.
Do you have any regrets? Are they about something you did, or about something someone did to you? Most of the presentations on this subject that I have heard in my Dale Carnegie Classes over the years, as I have mentioned previously, have come from people who felt they they had been the cause of another's hurt.
The things I really want for Christmas are never tangible objects. For instance, I would really like to have a good night’s sleep. Now, you must be pushing 50 from one side or the other to appreciate this wish. A good night’s sleep consists of two key ingredients: 1) comfort during the sleeping process, and 2) no aches and pains after the night is over and the alarm clock sounds.
We held our annual “Thanksmas” celebration on Thanksgiving Day. I cannot remember when we first started this tradition, but I doubt any of the grandchildren can recall a time when we did not do Christmas on Thanksgiving.
Three very special young ladies are traveling in Italy this week and I want to highlight some of their experiences. These ladies are my Daughter Jessica, my Grand Daughter Rachel, and a special friend, Carla Gray. They are all extremely busy in their everyday business and personal lives. Jessica holds a very important position with Natural Stone Services headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., and she also is a leader in her church and community. Rachel is also a very busy young executive, and Carla stays on the move as well. So if you are planning to travel, don't let your busy schedule keep you from doing so.
My latest book, Sprinkling Stardust: The Delights of Grandchildren, is now available on Amazon. This book is my first since I published My Wife Has All the Answers in 2002. In the nearly 20 years that have passed since the first book, I have written roughly 1,000 additional columns.
Father's Day became a National Holiday when President Nixon signed it into law in June, 1972. Up until that time there had been calls for this recognition to occur, such as these words from an Arthur Godfrey song, "If it hadn't been for Father, would your Mother be your Mother, so remember Dad on Mothers Day."
Another Mother's Day has come and gone but, actually, every day is Mother's Day because, as the old saying goes, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." Mothers know that children are influenced by what they see and hear, starting in the home.
During this school year when Pitt County students have faced “Virtual Mondays,” Abby and Hannah, two of my granddaughters, have stayed with Sandra and me from Sunday afternoon until I return them to their mother Rachel, who teaches at South Central, on Monday afternoon.
In last week's Column I wrote about the passing of my brother, Rick Gardner, and how the loss of a loved one can be painful to those who remain. But we are in this life "One day at a time," and it is incumbent upon us to cherish each day and be thankful for the opportunity we are given to share our lives with others, particularly members of our families.
Today I want to talk about the passage of time and how we handle it. Life is NOT about how far we can go, how high we can jump, or how much weight we carry. Life IS about family, friendships, experiences, and memories. We all suffer heartbreaks over such things as losing a loved one or seeing a child suffer, but broken hearts can give us strength, understanding and compassion toward ourselves and others, and help us to appreciate life's peaceful moments.
Sandra and I invited Lydia and “the littles,” Laney, 9, and Luke, 6, to spend a week with us at Peppertree Resort at Atlantic Beach. Since both children are doing their schooling virtually, all we needed to school them was a decent high-speed internet connection. I had already checked Peppertree’s Wi-Fi and it was plenty fast.
Well, another Thanksgiving observance has come and gone, and I hope you had a wonderful time. As I mentioned in last week's Column, I had the wondrous opportunity to spend a few days with my wonderful children & grandchildren, and blessings abounded. And now we can all look forward, you and I, to Christmas and the love and laughter we will once again have the opportunity to experience. One of my favorite movies of all time is "It's A Wonderful Life."
Family is not merely people related in the here and now. Family stretches back into the mists of history and forward into the unknown future. Strengthening family ties is one of the most important achievements we can ever accomplish. Those family ties are essential to what we are, what we were, and what we will be.
Well, we are blessed with another Thanksgiving week, and all of us have a lot to be thankful for. I am blessed to have the opportunity to spend some time with my children and grandchildren - Daughter Jessica and Son-in-Law Bob and Son Reece & Daughter-in-Law Lisa, along with our grandchildren, Rachel, Davis, Patrick & Shea, and Tessa.
Sandra and I are just two of the – ah – victims of fallout from the “virtual learning” Mondays decreed by Pitt County Schools. For the past few weeks, we have taken granddaughters Abby and Hannah home with us after church so they could spend the night and do their virtual assignments on Monday. Since Rachel and Joe both are teachers and must report to school on Mondays, they did not want to leave their girls home alone.
This past weekend was wonderful for me in every way. It began with the arrival of my beautiful daughter Jessica, and that event in and of itself was enough for me to accurately describe the weekend as wonderful. But it went even further than that. Jessica planned and helped carry out a mini Family Reunion, with our traveling to Elizabeth City to celebrate with various other family members from that area.
