Every once in a while I like to try to go "deep." Thank you Mara for pushing me in! The following is the journaling I will be including on a layout for the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race.
I’m sure my father has passed down some brilliant words of wisdom to me over the years. After all, he’s a very smart guy and I am Daddy’s Girl. Unfortunately, all those insightful tidbits and life’s lessons have slipped in and out of my mind. Most likely they have hit their mark and become so much a part of who I am that I cannot recall them as “advice given” anymore. That is, all but one…
When I began driving and became one of those “responsible motorists” that we all become at the age of 16, my dad gave me some advice that I, at first, brushed off as “Dad just being silly.” He told me, “Watch out for the wet leaves.”
Why did this small piece of advice stick with me? I mean, after all, it doesn’t answer all of life’s burning questions. It doesn’t bring us any closer to world peace. It doesn’t help me pay the bills. It doesn’t get me through life’s disappointments. Or does it?
Was Dad just warning me that wet leaves in the road can be slippery and cause me to crash my precious 1985 Toyota Tercel hatchback? Or was he trying to teach me an important and valuable deeper lesson in life? After all, I imagine those “wet leaves” situations pop up in our lives on a regular basis. Could he have really been telling me to be alert, be aware and to watch my step as I go through the day to day of my life? I think so.
What are those things in my life that side-track me? That cause me to be less than I want to be? That prevent me from living the life that I want for me, that my parents want for me, that my husband and children want for me and, most importantly, that GOD wants for me? Those are the real “wet leaves” I need to look out for. I guess that the “silly” warning from my father holds a whole lot more meaning than I originally saw. Don’t get me wrong, every time I get into my car on those damp autumn days his words come back to me as clear as the first day he said it but I think it would serve me well to remember those words at other times as well. To sit back and ask myself, “is this a ‘wet leaves’ situation?”
Now that I’ve had a chance to really ponder the meaning of Dad’s words I think this is an important lesson to make sure I pass along to my children. Right now, while they’re young it’s up to me to navigate the “wet leaves” in their lives. But soon, much sooner than I would like, they will leave my safe little nest and drive those damp autumn roads alone. I think I should take a page from my father’s book and make sure they know…
“Watch out for the wet leaves.”
I’m sure my father has passed down some brilliant words of wisdom to me over the years. After all, he’s a very smart guy and I am Daddy’s Girl. Unfortunately, all those insightful tidbits and life’s lessons have slipped in and out of my mind. Most likely they have hit their mark and become so much a part of who I am that I cannot recall them as “advice given” anymore. That is, all but one…
When I began driving and became one of those “responsible motorists” that we all become at the age of 16, my dad gave me some advice that I, at first, brushed off as “Dad just being silly.” He told me, “Watch out for the wet leaves.”
Why did this small piece of advice stick with me? I mean, after all, it doesn’t answer all of life’s burning questions. It doesn’t bring us any closer to world peace. It doesn’t help me pay the bills. It doesn’t get me through life’s disappointments. Or does it?
Was Dad just warning me that wet leaves in the road can be slippery and cause me to crash my precious 1985 Toyota Tercel hatchback? Or was he trying to teach me an important and valuable deeper lesson in life? After all, I imagine those “wet leaves” situations pop up in our lives on a regular basis. Could he have really been telling me to be alert, be aware and to watch my step as I go through the day to day of my life? I think so.
What are those things in my life that side-track me? That cause me to be less than I want to be? That prevent me from living the life that I want for me, that my parents want for me, that my husband and children want for me and, most importantly, that GOD wants for me? Those are the real “wet leaves” I need to look out for. I guess that the “silly” warning from my father holds a whole lot more meaning than I originally saw. Don’t get me wrong, every time I get into my car on those damp autumn days his words come back to me as clear as the first day he said it but I think it would serve me well to remember those words at other times as well. To sit back and ask myself, “is this a ‘wet leaves’ situation?”
Now that I’ve had a chance to really ponder the meaning of Dad’s words I think this is an important lesson to make sure I pass along to my children. Right now, while they’re young it’s up to me to navigate the “wet leaves” in their lives. But soon, much sooner than I would like, they will leave my safe little nest and drive those damp autumn roads alone. I think I should take a page from my father’s book and make sure they know…
“Watch out for the wet leaves.”
Here's the layout I created with this journaling.
