Make Good Choices
My three children have come out OK- even better than OK. They all graduated college with honors, on time, within budget, without debt, and became immediately employed in their chosen fields. Advanced degrees and additional professional training have made them all the wiser and having their own children have made them humbler. You have never lived until your own children say, “Mom, I can’t believe you did it all!” Music to the soul.
With six grandchildren and one more arriving in July, I am also reveling in the joys of grand parenting and being lenient, indulging, and full of whimsy when we are together. Friends, colleagues, and parents have asked me how did you accomplish it. Faith, luck, patience, and more luck probably are part of the formula. Although I distinctly remembering my eldest son telling me one day, “You are not the principal of this house!” A dose of reality always does the body good.
One solid mantra that I drilled into my trio was a sure fire way to assess what they were doing and whether what they were doing was good, fair, and right. It came from my brief stint in the Rotary. I loved the fellowship and projects, but hated the early hour they met and yearned for a bit more estrogen in the room. But the Rotary Four Way Test stayed with me and I applied my adaptation to our family, our children, and even our school.
Is it legal?
Is it moral?
Could you read about it in the media and be proud?
Could you tell your mother/father face to face?
The answers to the four questions gave my children pause and allowed a more thoughtful, wise, and positive choice… most of the time. Nobody is perfect!
Our dynamic office team at Wood Acres also has amazing children who are good, kind, and successful. So I asked them for their mantra or one liner that helped their own grow and glow.
“Make good choices.” Marcy LeSieur
“Don’t wish things were easier, wish you were better.” Jenny Tischer
“You have to have a few bad days every now & then to appreciate the good days.” Jenny Tischer
“Be yourself.” Nicole Hankamer
“Share your awesome self with the world.” Laurie Mazor
With Hugs and Love to parents everywhere,
Judy Thigpen
