(for fun, you can change your profile pic to a parent pic, if desired.)
H and I often talk about how much my parents taught my 6 sibs and me (and SILs and DILs). H's parents literally taught their kids NOTHING (I am not kidding), which H laments).
from dear French mom...
economizing, re-purposing, saver-shopping
gardening, rose-care
sewing - hand and machine - everything from mending to sewing a complete outfit.
crocheting
cooking
baking
cleaning
baby-care and child-care (began changing diapers with PINS) at age 5.....and how to dress/bathe a squirmy slippery baby! )
child-discipline with love, but firmness.
letting kids feel the minor hurts/bumps so that they learn to be careful
how to teach a child not to lie to you.
importance of education....teaching us to read, keeping our spelling lists by the sink so she could test us while working
the importance of keeping busy
card-games
to be careful with our things....repair early
family is super-important.
mom would do anything for us....including getting up early to fill our gas tanks so that we could get our rest for school (this was during the crazy 70s gas crisis
our faith
from dear Italian dad
economical shopping and re-use(he and mom were a great pair)
electrical stuff (dad was a navy-trained electrician, but worked in engg in aerospace). I can change/fix a number of electrical things.
how to store cords/ropes (LOL) anyone who has a parent-vet probably has noticed how they wrap cords!
how to repair & refinish furniture, paint, change a faucet, pull a toilet, change door locks,
how to change a tire, etc. (if i had been a son, I would have been taught a lot more...lol. My brothers can tear down cars and rebuild)
how to use tools and how to safely use an electrical saw and other power tools.
how to gently use high-tech equipment. When we got our first stereo in the 60s, only the two oldest (my bro and I) were allowed to turn on/off for the other kids.....but only after we had undergone "training" from dad and demonstrated that we would be very careful with the needles, the records, etc.
he taught us how to drive...a stick-shift. and how to drive to cause minimum impact to the car/tires/transmission/brakes.....slow turns, slow stops, etc. and change your oil every 2500 miles (I know, with the new oils, that can be relaxed a bit)
how to think outside the box. dad was amazing at finding solutions to various problems. when he was in his late 80s, we still called him for solutions. Even now that he's gone, I still ask him for help when faced with a new problem, and amazingly a new solution comes to my head.
how to draw....dad was artistic as well as being inventive.
our faith...and that it isnt girly to have a strong faith...which was important since he had 4 sons.
I am sure i am forgetting a million other things.......
↧