Small Town Therapists on Parenting, Grandparenting and Mentoring

Delight is contagious

 No act to kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.         Aesop, the Lion and the Mouse

The best portion of a good person's life, is their little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.                            William Wordsworth

One of the joys of my life has been to raise children and watch them become the wonderful adults that they are today.  I'm including the boys to men that I raised and also the blessed gift of helping to raise additional children: nieces and nephews; grand children and grand nieces too.

No surprise, when raising children, everyone can benefit from the "it takes a village" truism.  I always gratefully embraced my good fortune that I've had access to many dear little ones.  I was lucky to be available to care for many kids. I've relished allowing their parents a break and our activities weren't huge monumental things that we did. No Disney land, or Grand Canyon for example, instead we had more modest adventures like: 

going to the park;

inviting them over for a baking extravaganza;

inviting their families for dinner;

inviting them for sleep overs;

taking long walks;

swimming in ponds;

having beach picnics;

having long talks; 

laughing uproariously;

and always listening, listening, listening. 

I loved every moment of being with the kids. 

To our utter delight our sons got married and soon decided to have families. Their wives had beautiful babies and my husband and I were in a continual state of gratitude. Most thrilling was watching these sons of ours become excellent fathers. Bliss. Double that pleasure was Mr. G and I got to be at their beck and call to help out anytime they needed us to stay with our grands. 

These babies are now all in, or about to go to college. I highly recommend attending to grandchildren because now we have a close relationship with all of them. They are so bright and funny--- but we knew that from the beginning. This was undeniably a privilege and we're so grateful to our sons and daughters in law.

Grands are the best

 Am I suggesting that you run out and mentor a kid via, "Big Brothers and Sisters"? Well if you're able, yes. Your local grade schools or high schools may offer a mentoring program for kids in need of adult attention. I fervently wish there was even half as much attention paid to the abandoned or neglected children in our society as we give to the abandon animals in the shelters. There are so many children who have need of attention, help with the basic needs: food, clothing and shelter. These children could be positively affected by mentoring. So if you do have even a speck of free time, you could fill this niche. 

grands are the best

The payoff to taking a chance on a child? Get ready to have inspiration and belly laughs.  Get ready to resolve arguments, dry tears, possibly change diapers, and read stories. Get ready to have joy and spread joy. My latest volunteering was as Zorro for a Halloween party. I was at he party playing the guitar and serving cider to preschoolers. Hilarious and worth every moment. Are you jealous? You should be.  On the other hand you could be volunteering in this world of children and then you too will have the feeling of joy of giving for the best cause I know of.