2 of 10

Write now Article Tools

Learning from our parents and grandparents can save us many tears and a great amount of time. They have been where we are now and they know the pitfalls of life in a broader sense than we do. Parents and grandparents know from experience and there is no better teacher.

While we act on impulse and feelings, they act on gained knowledge. This is often the reason that many think there is a generation gap between them and us. There is no real gap except they know better and we have yet to learn.

I remember two engagements which were later broken. At the time, I believed each man to be the most wonderful person on earth and counted me as blessed to have won him. My Mother, on the other, hand told me in each case to give it some time before saying the I dos and I might have a change of heart.

I am glad now that I waited. However, at the time, I was resentful of her advice and thought she would come around if only she would get to know him. However, things I thought, at the time, to be only little mistakes they had made, she thought of as a lack of character in one and poor judgment skills in the other.

She was of course right on both counts. One died a few years later while drag racing, leaving a widow with two children and no insurance and the other is in prison now for embezzlement. How did she know? She had experience in life and knew what was and was not good marriage material.

There are other things I learned from Mother such as, a place for everything and everything in its place, never write angry words on paper and let your word be your bond. Actually, the list of things I learned from Mother is endless, for she taught me how to care for a home and how to comfort a sick child as well as how to plan a well balanced meal and how to cook.

My Daddy never saw gender when he looked at one of his children so I was as welcome in the shop as my brothers. I learned as a teen the proper use and care of tools and safety with power tools such as saws and air tools such as rivet guns. He taught me practical things also, like how to figure things out and find solutions.

He opened my eyes to reading at an early age and I am still appreciative for this. With books, I have traveled the world and seen the depths of the ocean. I have scaled mountain peaks with the best mountain climbers and loaded rifles for General Washington's troops.

Using what he taught me has allowed me to have a better education and to learn more about anything that piques my interest. There doesn't have to be

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Learning from our parents and grandparents?
We want to hear your view. Write now!