Still learning from my elders
January 18th 2012 08:58
Still Learning From My Elders
Hello everyone, today I wanted to talk about what we think we know when approaching middle age.
My most recent experience was around Christmas.
My wife and I were talking to our oldest daughter, who recently moved in with here fiance and has no experience with bills or pretty much any grown up responsibility and top of that expecting her first child (approx. 3 mths. Pregnant ).
Well we know they are strapped for cash and we wanted to make sure they weren't starving and she was eating okay.
During our conversation she confirmed there was not alot to eat and she hadn't ate alot that day.
Well that was all it took, me and my wife were saying our goodbyes to my mother in law and were on our way to the grocery store. Instinct right, without even thinking about it, your kid is hungry and you are going to feed them!
Well during our goodbyes my wife explained it to her mother and she told us we were making a mistake and that if she was hungry she would come to our house and that they would come to expect free groceries with just a phone call saying they were strapped.
The only thing I could think was you are a cold hearted @#*#@ how could you do that to your own kids.
Okay now stick with me the only thing I was thinking was my pregnant daughter was hungry and was not thinking about this woman in front of me has raised 3 kids and kept it together after losing her husband (a great man) a few years back to ALS, the only man she has EVER been with and keeping their home of many years from being taken from the bank and a few major floods, while still putting money in a savings account and planning a family vacation that she wants to pay for, and being there for me and my wife when we needed anything and all of this with a smile. She sounds like superwoman huh,well in my eyes she is, theres no other person in this world I would rather be like than my mother in law, we love you mom.Oh and she makes the greatest cookies.
Alright I got side tracked, anyway not thinking about what she said we went to the store and bought a weeks worth of groceries and headed to our daughters. Things have been tight and we really could not afford this.
On arrival and carrying in groceries her fiance was on the couch with a beer but couldnt afford groceries.
It gets worse when her mother was helping her put things away there were a few frozen family meals in there and the pantry was half full. She said that stuff just didn't sound good. So what did we learn, my mother in law was right they were new to this and used to the way it was at home and not knowing where the groceries came from just that they knew there was always good things to eat.
They need to learn about the rough times by experiencing them and figure out how to fix them.
I also learned to listen a little harder to my elders as they have been there and done that. Sound familiar, I know we have all told our kids that.
So start listening to your parents and soak up what you can they won't be around forever. I hope some day I can be half the man as my mother in law, thanks mom Laura.
Hello everyone, today I wanted to talk about what we think we know when approaching middle age.
My most recent experience was around Christmas.
My wife and I were talking to our oldest daughter, who recently moved in with here fiance and has no experience with bills or pretty much any grown up responsibility and top of that expecting her first child (approx. 3 mths. Pregnant ).
Well we know they are strapped for cash and we wanted to make sure they weren't starving and she was eating okay.
During our conversation she confirmed there was not alot to eat and she hadn't ate alot that day.
Well that was all it took, me and my wife were saying our goodbyes to my mother in law and were on our way to the grocery store. Instinct right, without even thinking about it, your kid is hungry and you are going to feed them!
Well during our goodbyes my wife explained it to her mother and she told us we were making a mistake and that if she was hungry she would come to our house and that they would come to expect free groceries with just a phone call saying they were strapped.
The only thing I could think was you are a cold hearted @#*#@ how could you do that to your own kids.
Okay now stick with me the only thing I was thinking was my pregnant daughter was hungry and was not thinking about this woman in front of me has raised 3 kids and kept it together after losing her husband (a great man) a few years back to ALS, the only man she has EVER been with and keeping their home of many years from being taken from the bank and a few major floods, while still putting money in a savings account and planning a family vacation that she wants to pay for, and being there for me and my wife when we needed anything and all of this with a smile. She sounds like superwoman huh,well in my eyes she is, theres no other person in this world I would rather be like than my mother in law, we love you mom.Oh and she makes the greatest cookies.
Alright I got side tracked, anyway not thinking about what she said we went to the store and bought a weeks worth of groceries and headed to our daughters. Things have been tight and we really could not afford this.
On arrival and carrying in groceries her fiance was on the couch with a beer but couldnt afford groceries.
It gets worse when her mother was helping her put things away there were a few frozen family meals in there and the pantry was half full. She said that stuff just didn't sound good. So what did we learn, my mother in law was right they were new to this and used to the way it was at home and not knowing where the groceries came from just that they knew there was always good things to eat.
They need to learn about the rough times by experiencing them and figure out how to fix them.
I also learned to listen a little harder to my elders as they have been there and done that. Sound familiar, I know we have all told our kids that.
So start listening to your parents and soak up what you can they won't be around forever. I hope some day I can be half the man as my mother in law, thanks mom Laura.
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