Categories
On The Bricks

July 19, 2014

My mother had a birthday last week. She’s had quite a few birthdays, but she is far from old. She can outwork me, but she hasn’t been able to outwit me in a long time. Of course, that’s just my opinion. She might not agree.

I don’t know about you, but my parents weren’t perfect. And they’re continuing in that vein as we grow older. But they did the best they knew how with what they had. And with what my brother and I gave back, I suppose.

We need to try to be the best parent we can be with our kids. And we need to understand we’ll never be perfect. Nor will we have perfect children. Any of us. I don’t care what you tell the teacher, your child (and mine) can be a poot. Any day.

Try to learn more about parenting, or any other skill that you need. In the July Rotarian magazine one article said, “More information doesn’t make you love your children more, but it can help you take care of them better. Awareness of sanitation methods, which humanity learned as the result of devastating plagues, is our best defense against disease, yet many parents do not teach basic hygiene habits to their children.”

Quit letting your kids be little pigs. Have them wash their hands. Yuck. Cripes, we have running water nowadays. We have no excuse.

Talking to mama about a house we read about that had a dozen bedrooms and 24 bathrooms, we were aghast. That means a separate bathroom for each person if there were two people in each bedroom. Crazy. And mama’s husband says, “I have to wait for you all the time to use the bathroom and there’s just two of us.” Really? Go to the downstairs bathroom and quit complaining.

So I have to one – up. We had six people and one bathroom when the kids were growing up. And we really did ok.”

Then mama says, “We had four people and no bathroom. Or running water.” OK, you win. She does still outwit me. Dang.

Anyway, this Rotarian article also goes on to say, “History teaches us that the world is much bigger than our personal experience. Just because your family treats women with respect doesn’t mean everyone does. Just because you’ve never seen a gay teenager beaten doesn’t mean such horrors don’t happen. The great benefit of history is that it teachers us more than we could ever learn through our own lives. We have the collective experiences of millions of people, and the lessons they’ve learned. But all that wisdom is for nothing if we don’t pass it along.”

So learn something.

And pass it along.

Let’s work at not being so stupid.

Benjamin Franklin said it well, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

Rise above stupid.

Heck, rise above normal.

Read a book. Learn something new every day.

Share it and you’ll have smarter friends, too.

Quit spending time with friends that talk about the same thing every time. Or make a pact to get past there. Crawl up out of the gutter. We all should.

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” Maya Angelou wrote those words. You should learn something about the horrific things that happened to this amazing and revered woman. It will make you appreciate your life more.

There are several things approaching the amazingly appreciated in my world this week. Linda Hill Crop Insurance is appreciated for her sponsorship of the Guymon Farmers Market. And each Saturday morning I see people loving the market. They probably appreciate Linda Hill and her staff, too. Well, except for Markie Kidwell who got there too late on Saturday to get a loaf of Reyna’s jalapeno cheese beer bread. Sorry Markie. Lots of people seem to appreciate Reyna’s bread!

And Main Street Guymon has their first child daycare member! Children’s Garden Daycare has joined and we all appreciate Shaunda Williams and her people. Even the kids. And kids sometimes are harder to appreciate. Well, for me. Probably not for Shaunda.

If you’re interested, they are remodeling the daycare and they currently have some positions open for kids. They also accept drop – ins for all you moms that are trying to be better moms.

“We are fun,” Shaunda said to me in an email, “LOVE kids, and want to provide a home – like atmosphere.” I’m proud they’re part of Main Street Guymon.

Don’t miss the Healthy Moment on Thursday, July 24, at Play Like A Girl Gym from 5 – 6 pm. There will be healthy snacks, blood pressure checks, a demonstration from Play Like A Girl, plants and herbs from Mary Long (gardening is healthy and so is the Farmers Market where Mary Long is each Saturday morning). You also come by and will have a chance to win $100 in the drawing at 6! Be there. We would love to see you.

See you on the bricks. Appreciate all you do for our community, too!