One Degree of Change
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Although its a New Year, and we start with the best resolutions that will make our lives so much better! But even the best of intention resolutions go by the way side, and often become lost in the miasma of life. Why?
Well, because more often than not, we feel in order to make a change in our lives, we feel we have to change the course of our ship 180 degrees….turn it around completely for that new goal, that new life, in order to achieve our new life.
There is one rule of life that I remember learning when I first became a teacher. It had more to do with helping students, or improving my classroom in some way, or my teaching strategies….something like that. BUT, this rule actually applies to more than that. It applies to the universe…the very core of our existence. READY FOR IT? Here is goes:
CHANGE IS CONSTANT
The only thing constant in our lives, IS change. We can not stop change, it happens on a universe level, in happens on a cellular level, or even smaller, atomic level. As long as time moves on, CHANGE happens. Even if we stand still, we breath, changing or exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide. The very root of BREATHING is change. Okay, I think you got the idea!
So what does that do with my New Year resolution? Everything!
If you want something to change this New Year, or don’t worry, it will. You’ll get older, your children, your pets. Your job will change, new clients, new people to interact with, new rules, new clients. What if you don’t have a job, a stay at home parent….oh, things will change there too! House gets dirtier, clothes get dirtier, yard grass and plants grow. Family changes too, as parents get older, babies are born, relatives move away or closer. There really isn’t a way to get away with change. It is how we adapt to the change that makes the difference.
Adapting to change: You get older….looking in the mirror, wow you’ve changed! Do I put on makeup to hide the change, the wrinkles, the puffy eyes, the sagging jawline? Children…oh, children change so much more quickly. Time to buy new clothes, new shoes, haircuts, braces! The job, what you do for a living, to earn a wage, to support your family….maybe it is time to make a change there too? Not meaning quit, but refocus, re-frame, set different priorities.
So from the title of this article, I think by now you might be saying….okay, what is one degree of change then? Well, let’s go back to the course of the ship. First it takes a long time to change the course of a large ship, so much slower than changing the course of a car! Picture a ship leaving from New York, heading to Europe. The captain sets course, due East. At first, the ship pulls out of the harbor and gets lined up on the destination. Ships have specific headings as they travel the seas, routes is a better word. As they move along their route, seas may be calm, but a storm in the distance may be challenging. The captain changes course to avoid the brunt of the storm. Because they are looking ahead, changes don’t have to be drastic, the change just a little, because by time they get into the area where the ship will be affected by the storm, the ship has moved away from the area by many, many miles.
You and I are a lot like that captain, but we are captains of our own ships. When we see storms ahead, or events that we don’t think are good for us, we begin to change course. A super simple example in your own home. The dirt dishes are piling up. We see, if we don’t wash them, several things may happen: 1. We run out of clean dishes to eat on, cook on or bake with. 2. Food scrapes begin to attract flies and other insects that aren’t good for our health. 3. Large mammals, ie rats, begin finding their way into our homes, and spread diseases. 4….well, you get the idea. SO, to change course, for #1-4 not to happen, we wash the dishes. If we wash dishes immediately after we dine, the change isn’t dramatic….less than 10 min, all is clean. If we wait until the next meal or the next day, change must be larger, 30 minutes or more, to stop #1-4.
Let’s move to a larger scale of change and possibly more difficult or complex. One very popular course is to STOP ______________ (fill in the blank). In our example, I will choose smoking. Smoking is an activity that may people do and many people want to change. If one smokes, then there are consequences (or results). (Just letting you know, I don’t smoke. I once did when I was younger, and mom found out, and she made me change with one slap…that was my change!). But another family member does, and that is their choice, not mine to change them, but they have a lot to think about. 1. They don’t like the way their breath feels/smells. The breath mints or gum proves that. 2. Their clothes have an unpleasant odor that often they themselves can’t detect, but people around them certain can. 3. Laws or becoming more and more restrictive on where you can smoke in our society. 4. Housing landlords, hotels, prohibit smoking in the buildings which reduces that housing opportunities, or many cold nights standing on the porch for the “last smoke” before heading inside. 5. I won’t even get into the health aspects of smoking, as I would like you to be able to read this post in under 15 days, but ultimately, the smokers health effects all the family members around them, either indirectly, or after the smokers untimely illness and death, directly, as they deal with not having that loved on in their lives anymore. And I won’t even get into the financial impact this activity. To say the least, it is one that I have heard many want to stop. An entire billion dollar industry is based on the notion, that their “product/alternate activity” will help them STOP. But who really has the ability to make the change? Ultimately, only you. Many try a 180 degree change. They stop, as we call it, cold turkey. I have know someone who has succeeded by changing this way, and he was more determined to continue not smoking, every time he looked at his daughter. But many aren’t able to make 180 degree change and stay the course.
A personal example that I made a one degree of change in my life, that has completely changed me physically and mentally, is my weight loss. Two years after having my last child, I noticed my weight had not gone back to where I started before I became pregnant. For two years I said it was “baby weight”, and I had to eat well (alot) to continue nursing. Well, that was a year after I stopped nursing….do you get the idea? I was using my children as a reason for not making a change. I decided to make a change, a small change, a one degree of change. And this is what the change was: When my children wouldn’t finish their food that I had prepared for them to eat, I would finish it, as I didn’t want it to go to waste. Well, in a way, it went to waist…get it? Sorry, couldn’t resist! I decided my change was going to be, stop eating the children’s left overs. That one degree of change, made me aware of what other things I was putting into my mouth. And it was much more than I had originally thought. In less than 6 months, after that one degree of change….that one decision….I lost 40 pounds. I then became more excited about the change, and made several more “one degree” changes in my life. For example, I began taking my dog for a LONG walk, once a week. The chain reaction of one degree of change, increased to nearly 45 degrees, then 90 degrees! That was nearly 10 years ago. I have kept the weight off, because I haven’t made the one degree of change BACK to the original path I was on, of eating my children’s leftover food.
Again, lets go back to the ship.
Ships can’t make a 180 degree turn. Titanic tried….
best example yet, huh? SO what is a captain, you, to do? Make a small degree of change. Make a one degree of change. If you change your course, that you are one, by just a very small amount, by time you reach your destination, you will have put yourself in a very different place then when you started. You won’t even end up close to where you were originally headed, in fact, over the course of many days, years, or life time, your destination will be the new goal you were seeking, and you will have arrived there.
What does a one degree change look like? It starts with a decision of looking down the road, on the radar, on the map of life (sorry, I know that sounds corny), but it is true. Where are you headed? What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to be at the end of this New Year? Don’t make several goals for yourself….just one…..you can take on the others when you are on the right course of this one. Where can you find your inspiration? Who else has achieved what you would like to achieve? How did they do it? Connect with others, learn from others, then take on your own goal, by making a one degree of change, one decision, one small habit, that will grow into a completely new life.
Why Do I Quit?
I’m inspired! Off and running! Excited for a new challenge…focused, working hard, succeeding. Then I remember….wait a minute….I had a blog…..I had fun writing….what happened? Why did I stop? Where is my old blog? Does it still exist in cyber past? Do I remember the password? Why did I quit?
As I move onto a new project, I remember the old projects. How I was inspired and eager, and worked hard back then. “Honey?”, I ask my husband, “Why did I quit?” He was hesitant to say….and I was eager to hear. I need to know! Why did I quit?
All people quit. There are things when we look back on our lives that we quit, and it’s good that we quit…a bad relationship that was toxic, a bad job that had no future, or an event that was headed down a destructive path. But what of the good things we quit? Did we quit too soon? Did we not view our status as successful enough? Not willing to see the journey through due to fear of eventual failure?
Self-reflection is not easy….for anyone. Especially when we look back on decisions that we don’t understand why we made. But there are a few decisions I made, that I know exactly why I quit.
An early memory was when I was in 5th grade, in my marching band class, at school. I was really good at playing the accordion. I was playing and attending music festivals, winning trophies, and even made a record (single 45 back then). I was being successful but unfortunately one day in class, my music teacher made fun of the accordion, because it couldn’t be marched with, like the instruments that she taught. So I quit playing the accordion. I should not have quit.
In high school I remember quitting the softball team. I had tried out, and was placed on the Junior Varsity team (I was only a 9th grader). At the time, I thought I belonged on the varsity team. So I quit the team. I should not have quit
And possibly the most future changing decision I made, was to not apply to medical graduate school. Not because I didn’t want to pursue that career, but because I didn’t want to receive rejection letter after rejection letter from medical schools telling me I wasn’t good enough. I should have tried.
These three events all display a common theme. Each time, I felt the decision to quit will help me be safe. Not from physical harm, but emotional/psychological harm. The pain that I experienced of being made fun of, not achieving the highest rank, or being rejected, was just too much for me to face. So I quit.
These are all negative things that I experienced. Were there positive things that I experienced, but also quit? Yes! Definitely!
The first one that comes to mind is my love for dance. I loved dancing, and I especially enjoyed dancing in my cultural dance troupe. We would travel, perform, be appreciated, receive accolades…I loved it! People I met, friendships that blossomed and a sense of pride that went along with being proud of my heritage. Why did I quit?
Another one that I am quickly reminded of is playing guitar. I began teaching myself at 11 years old, after my mom showed me her guitar and said I can play it. Everyday I would practice in my room. I would find music that I loved to sing, and play the guitar to accompany myself. I would write songs, record songs (on a cassette tape recorder), or listen to songs and try to figure out how to play it. I would perform at the scout campfires, eventually formed a band, and played locally at festivals and events. Why did I quit?
But the one that triggered this article, is this blog. I started it in 2013. I enjoyed writing my thoughts, learn about other people who blogged and how to blog better (become more tech savvy). When I rediscovered the blog, and looked at my statistics, I have followers, views and other analytics that showed my blog was becoming active. So…why did I quit?
I kept encouraging my husband to tell me, why did I quit this blog? He said, “I don’t want to sound mean, but you have a tendency to move onto the next things quickly without really giving what you are doing a chance at success”….or I don’t want to experience the failure. Once again, the common theme is: in my mind I hit a level of proficiency and don’t think what I am doing is very successful. I get quickly discouraged, and move on to lessen the disappointment. In other words…I quit.
I have learned from my daughter this interesting acronym: F.A.I.L. (she used it as a password when she was in school), and when she told me her password, I was mortified she would use that as a school password. She said “Mom, it stands for First Attempt In Learning”. Brilliant!
This year, as I started a new adventure (as I always seem to do), I have decided two things:
- My New Year’s resolution is: Keep trying….and with that, I can not quit anything!
- To start up this blog again.
This blog was and now is again, my chance to sharing thoughts, inspiration and motivation, for myself, and possibly others. And this time…I won’t quit.
Take a look at my new adventure too:
Educator’s Homestead My TeachersPayTeachers store for resources based on 25+ years of experience in the education field
My Youtube channel Educator’s Homestead. This video is how to make a worm bin for your classroom.
The Chicken in the Truck: A Reflection
Many years ago, my husband and I were driving on the freeway (highway), and we saw several chickens dead on the road. They obviously came out of a semi-truck that was probably on it’s way to the processing plant because they were pure white, (the kind used for eggs and meat).
The discussion of the question continues to this day: Would you rather be the chicken on the truck or the chicken that jumps from the truck? One choice, you surrender to your fate not knowing what will happen but maybe you will live, and the other choice, you try to change your course, not knowing if you will be killed instantly or survive and find freedom and your own choice of future.
I made a big decision last month, and am ready to begin my new path, (in a few weeks). I haven’t thought about this questions for a few years, and it seems everytime I make or am faced with making a big decision or have made a big decision, I think about this question.
Upon reflection I am identifying myself as the chicken who jumps from the truck. Reflecting on the current path I am on, I don’t like where I am going, soI concluded that I needed to take that “leap of faith” and try for something different. It maybe worse (in which I will jump again) or it may be better, (inwhich I will stay until it becomes worse then I will jump again).
I may be viewed as someone who won’t settle….but why do we have to settle? Why do we tell ourselves, “This is as good as I’m going to get, so what use is trying to change things?” As long as I am trying to get out, to change my life for the better, to improve my situation, to make a better life for myself, then I know that I haven’t given up. Some people have made this “leap of faith” in their mind, as did Viktor Frankle wrote about in “Man’s Search for Meaning” about his experiences in Nazi death camp, in Aschwitz, Germany. And others take a physically leap, as did the people escaping the burning buildings of 9/11. Being the master of your future, regardless of the outcome, is what gives you hope, inspiration, motivation and focus of your life.
Who do you identify with? The chicken on the truck, or the chicken who escaped?
Please feel free to leave a comment…
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Am I Making the Right Decision?
Sometimes when faced with two clear paths (or more), a pause is most valuable. The roads are before you, and you cannot see where the roads lead, because further down each path, there may be more crossroads. When we are faced with a decision, we assume several things: 1. The decision is permenant, as if there will be no more alternatives down the line. 2. The future you are picturing (picking) will come true the way you think it will, (as if you can see the future). 3. The choice you pick is the right decision. But we wont know until we are able to look back and see more clearly where that decision put us.
To rephrase your directive, do not think “am I making the RIGHT decision”, think “am I making a good choice”.
To make a good choice, you need to consider 5 things:
1. Your gut (intuition)
2. Your mind (logical)
3. Your loved ones (affecting others)
4. Your alternatives (other choices)
5. Your time (no hasty decisions)
Do not consider your emotions. Making decisions when emotions are raw or fresh, regardless if they are happy emotions, (Oh he is so wonderful I will leave my whole life for him….popular in movies, because the movie ends, and your life doesn’t) or angry emotions, (my wife got me so mad, I am leaving, permenantly).
Listening to your gut, ask yourself: Does the new situation feel good, will I be comfortable and relaxed?
Listening to your mind, ask yourself: Does this make sense? Think about all the possible outcomes, and the obstacles you will face with both choices.
Thinking of your loved ones, ask yourself: What will they gain/lose from my decision? Am I willing to put them through the pain or will their joy overcome the pain.
Thinking of alternatives, ask yourself: Is this your only choice? Are their other options? Staying in your current situation is an alternative, is that a choice?
Thinking of time, ask yourself: Must I make the decision right now, or can I wait a week or a month? When MUST the decision need to be made?
Be aware of your pitfalls, that may stop you from making the right decision: Fear, uncertainty, lack of confidence, previous decisions that went wrong, or just not making a decision. As said by the great rock band RUSH, “you are making a decision, by not making a decision”.
My best friend (my husband) always says, when you are a pilot, and you are heading down the runway, at some point, it is up to you to take off, or abort. Once you made the decision to fly, you got to go, or you’ll crash.
So, take it slow down the runway, take your skill, plane and environment into account, make the decision to fly or abort. If you abort, there will be another day to fly. If you decide to fly, focus well, throttle up your engines and fly! Once you have made it, face it with all your energy and enthusiasm, you’ll be airborne. Enjoy the flight.
photo credit: Jake Fowler via photopin cc
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What DO Moms Really Celebrate on Mother’s Day?
What Do Mom’s Really Celebrate on Mother’s Day?
Mother’s Day is a celebration and recognition of a person who is always there to take care of us. Children plan to make something special, maybe a card, a gift, a breakfast, and dinner for their moms to show they love them, and my children are no exception.
Unfortunately this year, the evening before Mother’s Day, we got a sad phone call that our cat had been hit by a car and killed. The cat was my daughter’s cat, and of course, the evening became somber and celebration seemed callous.
The thought that crossed my mind, as I held my daughter in my arms as she cried, was here, on Mother’s Day she will always remember that her kitten died. I felt her pain, and cried with her, but what gave me peace, is that I was here to hold her, to talk to her and to wipe her tears. She fell asleep in my bed between sobs, and I watched her as she succumbed to the exhaustion of the strong emotions she experienced.
Sure I would have liked a breakfast in bed. Sure it would have been nice to focus the day on me, but the day, today, is about her, and how there are things in life that are so painful, that the only safe place is in mother’s arms.
On this Mother’s Day, I am again reminded why I am so happy to be a Mom because I am here for my children, and THAT is why I celebrate Mother’s Day.
Affective Marriage
Close to 30 years in one monogomous relationship, I often wonder, when can you proclaim that you have a successful marriage. I have heard of couples getting divorced within a year, and even after 36 years. After a 36 year marriage, that ends in divorce, can you say that was a successful marriage? I came to the conclusion that the only way you can proclaim you have (had) a successful marriage is if you are a widow or a widower. One partner died, and you can say, “yes, it was successful, because we were still married when the partner died”. I am not looking forward to that proclamation by either myself or my husband.
So, what is an affective marriage? Affective is the domain of being motivated and inspired. I would then conclude that an affective marriage is a marriage that motivates and inspires you to be the best you can be. Do you get motivated by your partner’s actions? They are trying to “get healthy”, so it motivates and inspires you to “get healthy too”. They or you are learning about a new subject or topic, or have taken up a new interest or hobby. Does that motivate you to join in? Or at least ask about their new interest? It should. I never knew so much about James Bond, military airplanes or motorcycles until I entered a relationship with my husband. He in turn knows alot more about dog and horse breeds, my culture and country and Journey (the greatest rock band ever!).
I found this quote that I especially enjoyed tonight:
Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.
Sydney Smith
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_marriage2.html#gVHoKVjALFDwrxmV.99
Come together, and go apart. Be your own blade, but stay connected, and have similarities. AND always, punish anything that gets between you….You will then have an Affective, and Successful Marriage until the of time.
Blame It On Your Cerebellum!
This week, my science students just finished up learning about “Communication and Control” Systems….basically our brain (Central Nervous System) and how it interacts with it’s environment (Sensory Systems). An interesting thing about the brain, is it is divided up into 3 parts: The Cerebrum, Cerebellum and Medulla. The Medulla runs all our ‘automatic-involuntary systems’ like heart beat, breathing, blood pressure etc. Our Cerebrum is the learning, talking, hearing, and those kinds of things. But our cerebellum, which is our second largest part of the brain, helps with balance…yes, walking upright, not falling, and allowing us to move about in our environment.
Many years ago, my boss called me into his office, and we had a conversation, that looking back on it now, has 20:20 clarity. He said he admired how I kept my life in balance. Between putting in many hours at work as a new teacher and having a young marriage that needed nurturing. He asked “how do you keep it balanced, making sure you aren’t putting in too much energy into one, and neglecting the other”. I didn’t have much to say besides, “you just have to”.
When I teach about the brain, I think about everything that it has to sort through in a normal day. From information, memories, decisions, reflecting (which the cerebrum has to do), to keeping an organism alive(my body). But the cerebellum, it has the toughest job, it has to keep me balanced.
Currently I don’t get paid my educational worth, so I work a second job. I don’t see my husband much because he works a second job too. Between rising costs of daily neccessities and cuts in pay, we try to give our children a life of more experiences than just going to school, and coming home. We don’t do movies, go out to dinner, or have new clothes, or new cars, or go on any vacations or even have cable TV (plus cable is a rip-off anyway). It’s no better or worse than many of my other fellow middle class America. The point is, do I still have balance in my life?
I do. For balance in your life is not: do all areas of my life have equal percentage of my time and attention? But instead: Do the areas of my life have equitable needed attention. Equity being: What attention is needed so the relationship is healthy and productive. I keep a balance by reading at night to my children, talking while in the car, swimming with my kids instead of watching them while I read a book, sending emails of “sweet nothings” during the day to my husband, and many other “small things” that don’t seem like much, but it keeps the camel’s back from breaking.
What small things do you do that helps you keep balance in your life?
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A Bike Ride?
After a long day working, and school, many look forward to coming home and “collapsing” in front of the “entertainment -de jour”. That is how I felt today. Unfortunately, we noticed our “exercise” routine has greatly wained during the winter months, and we are feeling (and seeing) the results. To get motivated, we went down and joined the health club, (we were members last summer because of the swimming pools…less expensive than monthly pool service). Being excited to begin, the very next day the weather turns rainy, cold, cloudy, and windy….not condusive to swimming. Trying to ride the waves of motivation of joining the club, we watch the weather for improvements “tommorow”.
Isn’t it always “tomorrow” when one plans to begin a new routine…? Well, today, coming home (no pool only entertainment -de jour” waiting for us)..So I quickly throw out “why don’t we go for a walk?!” GRUMBLE>>>>>>>>is echoed…… “Oh come on….a short walk”….One child says “okay”, husband says “okay”, and it forces the other child to say…”okay-fine”!
By the time I turned around, bikes were pulled out, and the dog was leashed! We all headed down the road, like we had a mission. A few quick turns, and several blocks later, we were heading home. Nothing too long, we were back home in 25 minutes. The reluctant child said “that was actually fun!”.
I’m still waiting for the weather to be better tomorrow….maybe? But at least we didn’t sit around waiting for it to come.
A Reflection of 50
![[Remeya♥]](https://live.staticflickr.com/3617/3653215337_b6ff8b798c.jpg)
I was born on an interesting day. Not only did my parents celebrate Easter that day, they celebrated my birth. But what of other anniversaries on the day of my birth, April 14th? Well, they include the day Abraham Lincoln was shot, the Titanic struke an iceberg, the 1 billionth Chinese person to be born (in 1989), the French Revolution begun, and Les Miserables opened on Broadway.
From a scientific perspective, it is the recognition of a day the Earth is in the same location in relation to the sun in space. On Jupiter, I would be a lot younger, and on Mercury I would be a lot older. Some say the placement of the stars influences the person’s personality. I have many characteristics of an “Aries”, but I have found more in common with other people named Mary, than with other Aries.
But what about the day for me? My first vivid memory of a birthday celebration, my 5th, was me sitting at the head of the table, with my family and friends around it, singing Happy Birthday, and me, I was crying. Looking back at it, I think I was happy, but the attention was overwhelming. Other birthday celebrations included parties, outings to special places and being spoiled by family. The past several years, I have celebrated with one of God’s greatest gifts, a loving and amazing husband, and two beautiful and healthy children. Today, I was served a delicious breakfast, and will be treated to a “home spa” by my family. They tell me it’s an oatmeal day (which explains the oatmeal pancakes).
As I look in the mirror, I can’t think of what I thought I would look like, on this monumental benchmark. I know others who look younger than I at my age, but most look older, or at least act older. I credit being a teacher and having young children, for why I am active and energetic, (I have to be to keep up). I am healthy, with no health problems that I can even think of. A few gray hairs are shining in the sun, but I don’t need to color my hair to hide my years. Some wrinkles on my face are moisturized nightly, but still accent the edges that frame my smile.
Of all the things I reflect on this year, and lately every year, is the true appreciation of my age. So many people were not as fortunate as I, to make it to this number. For whatever reason, they passed on at a much earlier age. I think of my friend in high school who died from a motorcycle accident, he didn’t get to graduate. I think of the baby who died in the hospital room down the hall who won’t have any birthdays, yet my baby was born alive and healthy. I think of the college student who enlists in the army, doing what he felt was right, and is killed a month later.
There are many people, who don’t and will never have the pleasure of seeing the wrinkles, the gray hair, and to look deep into the eyes of the reflection of a person staring back at them, that hold the memories of a life time, ready to document more. I can’t and won’t ever complain about how old I am, for I am blessed to have made it as long as I have.
Greet…Each Other Well
The other day I came home from working all day, as millions of others in our world do. But I came home to my home….Think about that for a minute. Everyone person goes home to their home….no one elses. There in “your” home, you have family, loved ones, people you are glad to be around, and people who you like to be around, people who are glad to see you…I can’t wait to be greeted!
I pull up to my house, opened the garage door with my automatic door opener, and before my car wheels roll to a stop, my dog is running out to greet me…running around the car, jumping up to see my face….she is ready to tell me that she missed me soooo much….after petting her, and getting passed her enthusiasm, I enter the house, with full arms, ready to be greeted by my family….what do I see running towards me…my cat! He is meowing, he is rubbing on me, the dog is eagerly interrupts, competing for my attention. I stammer past my animals, no one else is in the house….
Oh, there is my husband, with his hands in the sink, washing the dishes and baking cookies….he turns warmly and says, “Hi Sweety”, obviously I don’t want him walking with drippy hands, so I greet him equally with a peck on the cheek. I don’t see anyone else….”where are the kids?” Neither child (I have two) noticed I walked through the door. Both watching their version of electronic entertainment, they are interrupted by a stern, “Come say ‘Hi’ to your mother”…
I am hurt, I need to do some reflecting on what I am teaching my children. I begin researching animal’s greetings….What I learned, is nearly every animal that has a “family unit” has a specific, understood greeting of loved ones when they re-unite to the family unit. Dogs lick each other’s faces, in submissive body language, wagging tails and yipping sounds. Cats touch noses gently. Bees dance around and learn what the incomming bee has learned about their environment. A most amazing comparison is that of chimpanzees, who greet each other by hugs, shaking hands, even kissing each other’s hands.
As a society, we teach our children, as they begin to understand their world, that they need to be cautious of strangers. But within a family unit, we need to teach children to show true appreciation of each family member. That when a loved one goes out of the house into the world, that upon their return, the utmost appreciation of their return must be displayed. I need to teach my children better, because in life, there is always a chance that the loved one may not come back, at all.
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Affective Learning 