{Straight From the Heart} *Ever Wonder?* 10/23/99
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Welcome to "Straight From the Heart!"
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I love introducing new writers to this list! Today's story from Terri
McPherson took me back to my childhood days. A time when there were no bills
to pay, no deadlines to meet, and nothing but my childhood dreams to pass the
time away.
Thank you for sharing with us Terri!
Ever Wonder?
Due to a recent stay in the hospital and subsequent recovery time at home, I
have watched more daytime television in the last few weeks than I have
watched in the last few years.
Babble and gavel shows aside, a recurring children's advertisement tugged at
my conscious. An omnipresent adult voice asks parents, "Ever wonder where
your children go to when they dream?" By itself, the question is innocent.
Add a backdrop of wistful, pajama clad children, living out their dreams
inside a popular toy store, and the question begs further investigation.
Most of the scenes, though restricted by four walls, are capricious in
nature. However, a child rolling dice and winning a board game, every single
time, and a child playing a hand-held video game, forever, are sad
portrayals of our children's aspirations.
I know exactly where my children went when they dreamed, and where my
granddaughter currently goes when she dreams. Part of my responsibility as a
parent was to send my children off to their nightly lands of enchantment
with an open imagination, free to travel and control the universe.
One delightful night, my then, six-year-old daughter, flew around the world
on the back of a purple-winged horse and delivered baskets of food to every
hungry child on earth. With a penchant for mischief and full of fancy, my
son once changed the color of the sky to pea-green and dotted it with
glittering silver clouds. He flew up to the sun, found a comfy seat and
giggled himself silly as he watched people come out of their houses, stare
up in amazement and ask, "Who changed the color of the sky and the clouds?"
A familiar theme in nearly all my children's dreams, was the ability to fly
or move without restriction.
The swift passage of childhood fades to memories soon enough. Children's
flights of whimsy should be encouraged beyond all boundaries, not limited to
the confines of a toy store. When offspring leave the family nest to chart
the course of their adult lives, they will make mistakes, trip on their
naiveté and at times, fall down. We must assure them of their ability to
learn from their mistakes, gather bits of wisdom along the way and get up.
If we send them into the world with their highest aspirations intact and the
belief in 'all things possible', their ultimate dream destination will not
include aisle ways, display shelves or check-out counters.
Ever wonder? No, I never did.
Copyright © 1999
Terri McPherson
tmcphers@mnsi.net
(Email Terri and let her know what you thought of her story!)
Terri lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has two wonderful children, a
five-year-old grandangel and a terrific husband. She works as a Writer / Web
Designer / Production Assistant for a local production company and teaches
advanced clogging classes for the Border City Cloggers. Her writing has
appeared in numerous online publications.
Check out her website:
WiseHearts... Weaving Small Wisdoms Through The Fabric Of Life
Wise Hearts! Weaving Small Wisdoms Through Th...
http://www.mnsi.net/~tmcphers/index.htm
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I received this today and wanted to pass it on:
Dear Mike,
I had read the " I Learned" story before, and passed it on to my
Grandmother (who went online at age 93) and asked her to add one for age 95.
This is what she added.
At Age 95, I have learned that you can't let a few aches and pains keep
you from enjoying life.
Don't I have a wonderful Grandmother?
Have a great day.... Lori
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What's the world coming to! Michael has his own weekly column on being a daddy!!
This week: Michael's anniversary letter to Kristi.
Click on this link to go to ChildFun.com!
Daddy's View | Michael's Weekly Column
or type in the following in your browser:
http://www.childfun.com/dads/michael.shtml
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Thought For The Day:
"No plan is worth the paper it is printed on unless it starts you doing something."
Verse for the Day:
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
James 1:22
Kid's Thought for the day:
"Open your eyes up underwater."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"Our children give us the opportunity to become the parents we always wish
we had."
(Nancy Samalin)
Coach's Thought For The Day
"We must have longe range goals to keep us from being frustrated with
short-range failures."
Deep Thought For The Day:
"Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are
we supposed to do . . . write to these men? Why don't they just put their
pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they
delivered the mail?"
(Steven Wright)
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/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20