My third oldest brother and I had a long conversation yesterday about our parents, especially our dad. He agreed that we were really lucky in the parent department because our parents taught us a lot about the people we were to become. We're pretty open to others' opinions (we don't have to agree with it though) and our parents' were generous with their time with us. We always went on picnics, even if it was to a local park. We always went fishing. Mom scraped by and was able to save up enough for us to go to a cabin in Northern Minnesota fishing for a week. We all got fishing licenses so that we could get our limit of sunfish for the freezer. Dad made the best batter-fried fish and we ate a lot of it. Plus family friends liked to come and eat the fish with us.
Mom and dad disciplined us by spankings, used a switch, and a couple of other things. Had they done that now, they would have been put in jail and all of us kids in foster homes. They never beat us. I don't think any of us could say that being disciplined affected us negatively but in fact, affected us positively. We always knew where we stood with our parents. When we were going to get a spanking, mom would say "get over here now otherwise you are going to get it twice as hard." Don't think any of us hesitated but never even thought about not going to her. We had no fear of our parents, only respect. My brother and I don't know at what age spankings stopped, they just did.
Our parents encouraged us to participate in sports, scouts, and music. They always went to PTA meetings and whenever there was a school function that needed a cake or other baked good, mom never hesitated. Funny thing is that we (myself and siblings) treated our kids the same way and none of us could be prouder than what we are. The trickle down sure worked well and now our grandchildren are experiencing the same thing.
All of a sudden, I realized how wonderful today is. What a great family I have and I'm proud of them.
Today's earrings are keepers
