In looking at everything I've posted lately, one might detect something of a mournful theme, with everything from the impending retirement of Formula One legend-in-his-own-time Michael Schumacher, to the death of journalist Ed Bradley, and the closing of CBGB's. Well, mourn if you will, I know I do when it's called for, but the bigger thing is to carry hope. With the passing of everything, the seeds are inevitably sown for that which we can only imagine. And I suppose in any event, there's going to be false starts, blind alleys, and other varieties of hold-ups. But, dammit, there's still nothing else TO believe, as far as I'm concerned.
To that end, of course, do some of the other things I've always mentioned. Read to your kids. Teach them songs, and teach them about music, everything from Beethoven to The Beatles, to Creed and the Wallflowers, if that's your thing (and with this alone I'm probably showing myself to be in the advanced throes of so-not-cool, but I'm over 40, there ain't much I can tell you, sorry.) Make sure they can speak well, and think for themselves; only then will they stand a chance of being everything they might hope to be. Encourage greatness, and lead by example. Be as big as you dare, and try not to hurt anyone in the process. Know as much about art as you do about Einstein, and try not to push a child away from what is in them innately, unless you KNOW someone else is going to get hurt in the process. I know my little chef, Sydne, is probably gonna take some skin off and bleed a little the first few times she tries to work with the big-chef knives, but she fell a lot learning to roller skate, too. And she got back up, and tried again. And in that, is a large lesson in itself. Don't stay down if you fall; get up, and try again. Learn from your mistakes. And keep in mind, the person who probably did the most damage to himself when he screwed up was Evel Knievel; and with that, I KNOW I'm dating myself. (if you've never heard of Evel Knievel, or his son Robbie, look 'em up on Google, there's probably tales of their antics somewhere.)
And always remember, life's a journey, not a destination.
About Me
- Pete
- Happily married, no matter how some days go. The women on a par with Martha are few and far between, believe me. Perpetually on the hunt for whatever is best, and best for me. Father of two truly outstanding young ladies. Not much else important to be said, well, maybe the South Korea thing.....keep reading.
1 comment:
There's some good stuff on the Knievel family at Wikipedia.
I try very hard to let Gabriel learn his own lessons... I'll show him how to do something a couple times, then I stand back and encourage him, but I let *him* do it. I'm always there to catch him, but I want him to at least -try- to do things by himself.
As for music, there's precious little he hasn't heard (and doesn't stop and dance and sing to!). AC/DC is a favorite, as is Pink Floyd, Beatles, pretty much everything that's come through our stereo, and that's about anything you can imagine. And of course we have our monthly music nights.
I'd hate to raise a child who won't even listen to something once, just because "Oh, I don't like that." Maybe you will - give it a try. Ya know?
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