Family

His optimism and perseverance never cease to amaze me

It’s a year ago today that my father passed away. The year of firsts… first Christmas without him, first Father’s Day without him… but I miss him every single day. The world felt safer with him in it. I am fortunate to have had a father I admire and respect. I am the woman I am today because of the way he and my mother raised me and the abundance of love they gave me. In honor of him, I am reposting this article I wrote about him for Parent Society…

I reflected on some of the many lessons I learned from my mother in a recent article. On Father’s Day, I couldn’t help but think about the things my father taught me. He is a brave man who has endured a lot during the course of his long life. My dad is a likable character with a great sense of humor…. a great storyteller with a vivid memory that allows him to recount events in his life with great detail. His advice throughout the years has stayed with me and served me well in life.

My father is the most optimistic person I know.  He has had some serious hard knocks in his life but he keeps a positive outlook, pulls himself up by the boot straps and carries on. Some might say he’s positive to a fault and that his thinking may be unrealistic in some instances. However, negative thinking never gets anyone anywhere. Scores of studies have touted the benefits that positive thinking has on our health and well being. Some believe this way of thinking is inherited. I’m fairly optimistic so there just might be some truth to that. Whether it’s genetic or not, he modeled it so I learned it.

He perseveres. It’s not enough to simply think positively in the face of adversity, learn what you can from the situation, move past it, and keep living your best life. He has had many blessings in his lifetime… Read entire article at Parent Society.

His optimism and positive attitude were an inspriation

As I celebrated an especially fun Mother’s Day, I found myself reflecting on lessons I hope to pass on to my children

After we become moms, we can’t help but see our own mothers in a slightly different light. We have a deeper understanding of the love they feel for us and we appreciate the sacrifices they made. Unfortunately my mother is no longer with us. I miss her and often wish I could talk with her and seek her advice on life, parenting, and how she kept her skin so smooth. There are moments when I think to myself how grateful I am for both the big and small lessons I learned from her while I was growing up.

She taught me proper etiquette and the importance of being polite. Because of my mom, I know which one is the salad fork, and that a simple thank you note is a lovely expression of gratitude. When we receive a gift or when someone goes out of their way to do something special for us, a handwritten thank you note is a show of gratitude that never goes out of style. My mom impressed upon me how important a thank you note is and I have done the same with my kids. It’s a simple gesture that shows a great deal of appreciation… Read entire article at Parent Society.