Years ago my Aunt Sam shared some of her favorite parenting stories with me. Here's some of her favorites, in her own words:
"My son Bill learned to say The Lord's Prayer very early and said it each night before going to bed. One evening when I was particularly attentive, I heard him say, 'And deliver us from eagles.'
"Along similar lines, my friend, Joyce Cotterman, was telling her young son, Kevin, about Jesus, explaining that all you have to do is believe in Jesus to belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. Kevin considered this for a few minutes and then said, 'I'd rather be a Mouseketeer.'
"My daughter Nancy was eating her very first ice cream cone. She consumed it with relish but with just one small problem. She ate the cone first and was left holding a blob of ice cream. She still likes the cone better than the ice cream.
"When I opened a can of fruit cocktail, I prayed that there would be an even amount of cherries or my two children would fight over the odd one. I eventually solved that problem by eating the odd one myself.
"My brother-in-law, Neil Hoppe, had a car painted bright red and was delighted with the results. He parked it in the driveway and admired it as he walked into the house. Later, when he came out to admire it some more, he discovered many stars scratched in the paint.
"His young daughter, Linda, had learned how to draw stars at school that day, and the beautiful red paint seemed like a real nice place to practice."
Thanks for the chuckles, Aunt Sam, and for sharing your memories with us!
Do you have a parenting or grandparenting memory
or another story you'd like to share?
If you're not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too.
Warning: I might feature your story in a future post.
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)
I'd like to thank all those who have shared their stories.
These posts wouldn't be the same without your input.
If you don't want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email,
here's my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.
A version of these stories originally appeared in The Highland Community News in January 2000.
