Parental advice...

Just had a really nice time with my parents when my wife was away. We asked them to visit to help me with our three children.

One of the things I enjoy most about the time I get to spend with them is the opportunity to talk with them. There was one specific conversation that is fresh in my mind and I thought I would share.

My mom had made a comment about how something was done in our house and I replied with something like children to not always do the same things their parents did...while this is no doubt a true statement, I started to wonder about the wisdom of the statement.

You see, every action we take as parents is watched. Our children model behavior and reactions after our own. This include the simple things like how to clean a dish up to complex actions like how we act when cornered in a professional environment by an aggressive co-worker.

So no, I do not do all things the same way as my mom but I need to pay attention to the her words and actions so I can learn because she has experiences I do not. The flip side is that I have experience she does not but my experiences should not prevent me from learning lessons from my mom. Further, lessons learned may actually be how not to do a thing...and I hope I recognize someday that my children do not do something I did because they have found a better way and maybe I can learn from them.

I guess the root thought here, and maybe the general lesson learned, is that we should be open minded and diligent to pay heed to the lessons of our parents...bad or good because each has value.