School of Hard Knocks (2mins)
My dad was named after his old Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie seemed so OLD to me. During the summer, when we traveled from Minnesota down to Arkansas to visit old Uncle Charlie, my brother and I learned many life lessons. The town was small, and the roads seemed run down, but Uncle Charlie’s heart was big and running over.
During one of our visits, his porch was scorching hot. "You could fry an egg on the ground!" Uncle Charlie said. As we imagined that in our mind's eye, he started telling us about his childhood and his life in the South.
Despite Uncle Charlie’s childhood and family problems, he always managed to say something funny and make us laugh. Once he started telling us tales about our dad. Dad was getting nervous because he didn't know what Uncle Charlie was going to say. The story was about when this old mule kicked and knocked dad down!
Uncle Charlie said he dusted my dad off and saw he was fine. "I think maybe that ol' mule knocked some sense into ‘em!!" he chuckled.
He believed it taught my dad to pay more attention to his surroundings and learn to respect the animals on their farm.
The wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and simple truths found in the lives and stories of our seasoned family members can be invaluable.
Lovely Can incorporates intergenerational wisdom and support for the children in her world. Lovely’s mom, school administrator, lunch lady, and warehouse worker created a Kids Can Plan-ned network of support, encouragement, and empowerment that changed her world.
Can your personal stories help a child grow? Are there examples from your childhood, you can share with your child, that may be a great life-lesson? How can you exchange your knowledge with the challenges of a child? Share your tales and help diminish a child’s self-centeredness or negative behavior.
Learn the ESE "easy" way to empower and champion their life with engaging tips, tools and culturally relevant techniques!
Register Now! Enroll in our "Grand CanYoung" – Where Grands knock, I mean Rock Empowerment!
by Sheila A.O. Champions Change Lives