If someone ever tells me that my actions, words and habits
do not affect my children’s choices, I will have to very strongly
disagree. I have proof!
Two weeks ago our son brought home a note from the
principle. Yikes! Reluctantly I took the envelope, wiped my
sweaty hands and I sat down, bracing myself for the news. It simply read:
“ Dear Kayden, I
understand you have been helping keep our school clean and setting a great
example for others! Thank you, Mr.
Hetherington.”
I guess Darcy and my
daily walks with one bag for garbage and one for recyclables have passed on to
the next generation. He is a chip off
the old blocks! This wasn’t something he
learned from TV or in his classes at school but rather from the example set at
home.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, last night our family
dug up old videos from when the kids were young. One tape was of our youngest son and Darcy
doing Hsieh Chien. Yes, his technique
needed improvement, he might have missed a few of the words and maybe his
attention got a little diverted, but he was only 2 years old! Even at that young he was following in the
footsteps of someone he loved and respected.
As we continued going through video clips, one surfaced from
Kayden’s first kung fu class at 2½ years old. As we watched and laughed, we noticed that
out of the entire class of these little guys, there were four familiar faces that
happen to still be continuing in their training at Silent River. Funny, but not surprising, was that all four
of these kids happen to have parents who to this day are active Silent River
students.
So what does this all say? Quite simply, we are helping
build the next generation. We are
responsible for teaching healthy, respectful and thoughtful actions. It is our job to set a positive example in
all we do and at the same time step up and be accountable for the mistakes we
make.
Alana Regier
