Do you ever wonder the influence you have on others or that others have had on you? When they say “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” does it apply to you?
In the past few years, I have thought a lot about the concept of putting out “positive energy”. It is too easy to get swept up into “negativism”—especially lately.
Positive energy and influence is something that I had all of my childhood. I was lucky enough to be raised by two brilliant, funny and kind women—my mother and my grandmother. In addition, the house that I grew up in had extended family living there—in my lifetime it included my grandfather, my great-grandmother, two great, great aunts and my mother’s sister for awhile. And I cannot remember any fighting!
If that didn’t make the house busy enough, my grandmother (Nana) and my Mom were both teachers. They would invite their colleagues to stop by our house on their way home to talk about current events, history, books and movies as well as the latest gossip at the local high school.
I sat quietly at the dining room table, soaking up the stories, the laughter and the idea that education is a gift and that we are so fortunate to be able to learn anything and everything we want.
So, when my grandmother, who had been a high school English and History teacher for 35 years, asked me what I wanted for my 21st birthday, I had an idea. “Would you make a list of the 100 books that you think I should read?”, I asked her. And so she did!
I still have that list today. My Nana is no longer around, but I still feel like she is with me. Have I have read all of the books on the list? No. In fact, I have purposefully decided to read only a few a year so that I can celebrate her and my 21st birthday for years to come!
Have you ever had a special gift from someone?
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