A Little Perspective

When I was a little girl, we had an amusement park in my town.  I don't remember a lot since it closed when I was very young, but I do remember watching movies and being on some of the rides. There was also a playground that had a sliding board that was really tall.  I always thought that the steps of the sliding board were endless, that it took so long to get to the top.  Now that I see pictures of the slide, it doesn't look that big.

We went to a public swimming pool in the next town that had a 9 foot section.  There was a diving board and also a high dive in the roped off area.  Most of the people who went off the high dive just jumped straight into the water.  I can remember climbing up, my heart pounding loudly with each step.  And then hesitating for only a second because I knew if I stood there any longer, I would lose my nerve and climb back down. 

When I took my 2 sons to the same pool years later, I again climbed to the top of the high dive.  My heart no longer seemed to beat against my chest, I no longer thought of climbing back down.  I jumped straight in, went to the bottom of the pool and pushed off to come back to the surface of the water.  Then I would swim to the side to watch my sons jump in. 

What seemed impossible at times, now was within reach.  What I thought I could never do, suddenly I was doing, over and over.

What changed?  My age, my size, my bravery?  My perspective. 

Do you need a little perspective in your life?

The American Flag

We have tried to have an American flag hanging on our porch since 9-11.  If it was torn or faded, we took it down until it could be replaced.  We respected the flag and participated in flag burning ceremonies when our sons were in Scouts and were taught the proper way to dispose of a flag.  

Our granddaughter was at our house a few weeks ago and saw the flag hanging from a porch column.  She was so excited and said "You have a pledge of allegiance flag!"  She is learning at a young age what the American flag stands for.  When I was in school, we always stood in the mornings, placed our hand over our heart and said the pledge.

I remember when Red Skelton had a TV show.  One week, he broke up the Pledge of Allegiance and recited it word for word and line for line.  Each time, he would stop and explain what the word or line meant. 

I wish each student in school had to write an essay on what the America flag means to them.  I don't know if me getting older, hearing details about the wars we are in, attending Veterans' Day/Memorial Day ceremonies, etc....  are what is making me feel this way.    But I hope each person reading this, will understand what the flag stands for and stops for a few seconds to lift it off the ground, unwrap it from the pole or straighten it and be thankful that it is a flag for the 'United States of America'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMR6d_9GsCQ

As a Parent ........

One of my favorite shows is Andy Griffith.  Last night the episode was 'Opie the Birdman'.  Opie had accidently killed a mother bird with his slingshot.  Andy told him that he would have to be a substitute mother for the baby birds.  Opie took care of them; putting them in a cage, giving them worms, making sure they had everything they needed.  When they had grown and were big enough to leave their nest,  Andy told Opie that he would have to let them go, just like their mother would have done if she had still been alive.  Opie didn't want to turn them loose and told Andy he couldn't let them go.  He questioned if he had done the right things, what if he hadn't taken care of them like their mother would have.  Andy assured him that he did the right things.  Opie then opens the cage and says to the first bird, "I hope I did all the right things."  He releases the birds and they are able to fly into the trees. He turns to his dad and says "He made it!  He is O.K.!"  As he looks at the cage, he says, "the cage sure looks awful empty".  And Andy tells him that the cage looks empty but don't the trees look nice and full.

As a parent, I often wondered if I was doing the right thing.  Eric and I said that we only got 1 chance at raising our sons and if we messed up, we didn't get to do it over.  As they grew, we would second guess ourselves and pray that we had made the right choices. 

Our 2 sons are grown now with families of their own.  I am sure that they sometimes question their decisions.  I can only hope that their children will turn out as great as they did.