WILL THIS MAKE ME A BETTER PERSON?

He insisted that he should buy the toy. After all, who doesn’t need a tiny dinosaur that you put in water and within 48 hours it grows to be 600 times its original size? Who wouldn’t want that?
The tears were growing in his 7 year-old-eyes and then his mother asked the magic question.
     “Will having that toy make
                            YOU a better person?”
 
WHAT???
Who is thinking of that?
It’s the best toy in the universe.
This is life and death.
He wanted it and he wanted it now.

I prepared myself for the tears to roll, the screams to begin, and a suitable tantrum to be displayed.
But, it didn’t.
He stopped. Thought a minute. And replied,
     “No, I guess not.”
 
This isn’t a story about kids, toys or tantrums.
This is a story about life lessons.
The life lessons I have learned from my daughter for the last 39 (+ 9 months) years of her sweet soul being in my world.

I add the 9 months because out of my 4 pregnancies, she was the easiest. I felt great and understood the “glow” that people refer to when you are pregnant. It was carrying her that taught me to enjoy the process and to slow down and appreciate the miracle of growing another human inside of my body.
 
I have watched her as she maneuvered being the middle child between two boys and most of the time she kept them in line.
 
I have watched how she finished college and fearlessly moved to a new state to begin a life in this big crazy world. And when she moved back, I knew it wasn’t because she wasn’t strong enough to be there.  Maybe it was because she knew I wasn’t strong enough to be without her.
 
I cried as I watched her pick the perfect wedding dress and celebrated that she had chosen the perfect man to support her life and be her husband.
 
I have felt pride when she announced she was pregnant, felt joy when she handed me her first baby, and 3 years later felt deep concern when her petite body carried twins. She powered through the discomfort, gestational diabetes, shingles, and being confined to bed. And less than 12 hours after the twins were delivered 6 weeks early by emergency cesarean, she insisted on leaving the hospital and was in the car with me driving more than two hours to be at the children’s hospital where the babies had been transported.
For her, there was no question - the determination of her wanting to be with her premature babies, overseeing their care, outweighed the pain and risk to her own health.
​Witnessing her strength through all of this was a lesson in overcoming fear.
 
I have watched how she processed the death of her younger brother and over the years has been a strong vital part of his daughter’s life.
 
I have watched her put her babies to bed and stay up late into the night to study, achieving her master’s degree and climbing the career ladder, ignoring the silliness of a glass ceiling.
 
For 39 years I have watched my beautiful daughter celebrate joyous occasions and handle tragedy. She has modeled strength, commitment, determination, and unconditional love.

---

​ 
When my daughter asked my grandson if that little toy would make him a better person, he put the toy back and chose a pair of binoculars.

They hung around his neck for days as he used them to see the world in a new way.
 
It was a small question, but it wasn’t a small moment. My daughter was teaching a life lesson.
She taught it to her son. 
She taught it to me.
She taught both of us to see the world in a new way.
 
My sweet daughter, having YOU has made me a better person.
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson: 
“With every decision, action, and thought, 
​                           ask yourself,  —   
         Will this make me a better person?”
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

---

Pennie Heart to Heart
WILL THIS MAKE ME
​A BETTER ​PERSON

YOUR TURN
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about what actions make you a better person -- and what actions don't.
​
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
                PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                          Thank you!  
                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                               All Rights Reserved
                 Copyright © 2013-2019 Pennie Hunt
         This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​