My, how times fly when you're having fun. School has my attention tied up, but I'm so thankful for you who reminds me that I haven't posted an entry lately.

These last three months have called for me to take a serious look at life, but most important MY life. In the midst of it, I am trying to balance out emotions, time, and energy. I have taken a serious step in prioritizing what's important to me, how I can help the most, but what is truly God's will for my life.

So, to what conclusions did I come? Summed up in one line. Spread more love. For the first time, I told one of my uncles that I loved him. My Uncle Jimmy is one whom I have always looked up to, although I somewhat feared him because he was so straight forward. I shared with him the other day of my memory of an unfavorable action. What he told me hurt me short-term, but it inspired me to be who I am today. He is a serious person and he handles business. My uncle started and operated the first black radion station in Asheville. Where black means unity (WBMU) and I was one of his radio announcers. Yes, that's right a D.J.

My uncled used to come in and say, "Prissy, you don't have to be so proper. Loosen up!" Anyhow, what I see now is I patterend some of my ways after my uncle ...and I must be just as serious and blunt as he is, for I noticed when I go to my grandmother's, some of the family members start scattering. But I'm o.k. with that, for I know one day they will do just as I did - realize someone else wants more for them than they do for themselves and love them enough to give tough love, when needed. Thank you, Uncle James, for the tough love you gave me.

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Who Cares? Teaching Children to Care
University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
extension.unh.edu

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in your life, you will have been all of these.”
George Washington Carver

Imagine a world where no one cares. What would it be like? There would be no hospital or hospice volunteers to brighten the day of an ill person. There would be no food pantries. Kindness extended to nursing home patients would be diminished, and probably the quality of care would, too. Mitten trees would disappear, gift boxes of Thanksgiving foods would no longer be distributed. There would be no shelters for the homeless, weatherization and fuel assistance programs for the elderly, or volunteers to manage youth programs like 4-H or Scouts. Our world would change dramatically, as would our happiness, hope, comfort and security.

With an eye towards the future, visionary parents imagine their children as adults, ready to face life’s challenges, strong, confident, and capable. They see themselves as responsible for helping to prepare their children to live independently, able to problem solve, think critically, make wise decisions, communicate well, and hard-working. These skills are all key to success in life, as are values that we model and impart as our children are growing and becoming competent, contributing members of society.

Our challenge, as parents, is to creatively teach our children whatever it is that they need to care for themselves in adulthood, but, collectively, we all need to consider our responsibility to create a more sensitive, caring and compassionate world for everyone. It happens by teaching one child at a time.