Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my Granny. If I’m cooking a roast, in my mind I’m in her kitchen
smelling those mouth-watering smells and tasting the deliciousness of her
cooking. When I’m making the bed I hear her remind me that a neatly made
bed belongs to someone who keeps a tidy house. When I’m at church I see her intently listening to the sermon and taking it to heart. When I’m in the garden
I remember all the time she spent teaching me to can beans, make jelly and
wilted lettuce, transplant flowers, and all sorts of other things we enjoyed
doing together.
In all of these things (and more) it’s not so much what was
taught, but rather how it was taught—through
experiences.
A few days ago, I had the joy of seeing Granny’s
talent for experience-giving being passed down to her great-great-granddaughter—my three
year-old granddaughter, Laney. I knew many of Granny’s lessons had been passed from me to my
children because they had been blessed to have lots of “Granny
experiences”, too. But when my daughter Elizabeth called to ask John and I to
come ‘meet’ their new baby chicks and share Laney’s excitement about her new
experience, I felt it was kind of like passing down a legacy of sorts—the legacy that is
providing my grandchildren the experiences they need in order to fully enjoy
being a kid.
Granny knew that the best way to teach me where things come
from was to allow me to be there for the whole process. She knew the best way for me to
learn from my mistakes was to let me make them—even if it meant eating flat
rolls or killing a plant. She knew the best way to teach me to cook was to let
me cook. She knew the best way to teach me I wasn’t big enough to carry the
watermelon by myself was to let me try—even though that meant we all had to
suffer the consequences of it being dropped and busted open on the gravel. She
knew experiences make a much deeper and lasting impression than watching
someone else do it for you.
She knew that in giving me and my kids the experiences of
childhood we would be better for it. And now we’re taking up where Granny left
off by doing the same for the new generation of children in our family.
How about it? Will you give your kids the experiences they
need to get the most out of their childhood?
Love,
Momma D
Copyright 2016 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
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