Your best two pieces of advice for your children

[Momvic5]

Keep your eyes on Jesus!

and

Listen to the the small, still Voice inside!

 

[mom2aredhead]

These are parts of Anna Quindlen's commencement address to Villanova students in June of 2000. It's advice I try to live by and intend to instill in my son.

The full version is available here.
http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~wender/quindlen.html

1) No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time in the office.

2) You will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your minds, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul...

My favorite part (condensed)
Get a Life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house...Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a cheerio with her thumb and first finger. Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. Kiss your Mom. Hug your Dad...And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.

 

[Dazer22]

All these words of wisdom and life lessons reminds me of the inspirational video on :


www.theinterviewwithGod.com


If you have not seen it ---take a look. It is beautiful.

 

[JustineMarie]

All these words of wisdom and life lessons reminds me of the inspirational video on :


www.theinterviewwithGod.com


If you have not seen it ---take a look. It is beautiful.

That was beautiful. Thanks for posting.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

1. You get (from others) what you (are willing to) tolerate. [Best advice I ever got from my great-grandmother!]
2. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others.

 

[DawnM]

Dh's grandmother's advice for her daughters and granddaughters:

"He's a man isn't he? You are expecting too much!"

Dawn

 

[jenn-n-okla]

1. Jesus, Santa and the Fairy Godmother are always watching.
2. Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.......Dr. Suess

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Don't major in something useless

My parents both said this to me and it was the best thing they could have told me at 18 years old. I took their advise and have never regretted it. I plan to instill this one in my children too. http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/thumbsup2.gif

Mine did too, thank goodness. I can't imagine where I would be now if I'd gone ahead with my plan to major in one seriously useless liberal arts major

 

[Crisgw]

Always be true to yourself
There is always strength in adversity
Truly live and not just exist

My mom's favorite: "Ducks don't fly with geese"

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Here are mine:

People are more important than things.

Always keep learning.

Teresa

 

[polz]

I have a daughter. So when she starts dating, I hope it works out like this for her.

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”

 

[flipflop]

These are parts of Anna Quindlen's commencement address to Villanova students in June of 2000. It's advice I try to live by and intend to instill in my son.

The full version is available here.
http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~wender/quindlen.html

1) No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time in the office.

2) You will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your minds, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul...

My favorite part (condensed)
Get a Life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house...Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a cheerio with her thumb and first finger. Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. Kiss your Mom. Hug your Dad...And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.

I love that speech. It is right on the money.

 

[ballle_98]

1. Practice forgiveness.

2. We tell our kids that our family "Believes, brings joy to others, and behaves." We wanted a family code that addressed upward behavior (believe), outward behavior(bring joy to others) and inward behavior (self-control; behave). Our last name starts with "B" so, each action needed to start with "B" so the kids would easily remember it.

 

[snickerboo]

Don't ever stop reaching for your dreams, even when you hit a bump in the road.

Don't eat yellow snow. just kdding (good advice, though!). Lemme see. Okay, here's one I really, really believe in: you make your own happiness in this world. There are people who have nothing and go through the hardest of times and still manage to find happiness, and others who have things others can only dream of but choose to be unhappy. Life is too short to wallow in misery and look for the negative. No matter what is happening in your life or your day, somewhere there is goodness and beauty but you have to wnat to see it.

And I actually have a third one that has become a bit of a mantra for me. It's Dr.Phil but its something we all need to think about: "you wouldn't care what others thought of you so much if you knew how rarely they did it." We worry waaayyy too much about what other people think when, the truth is, most people could care less what we're doing.

 

[wilderness01]

1. You get (from others) what you (are willing to) tolerate. [Best advice I ever got from my great-grandmother!]
2. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others.

Love this saying.

1. Life isn't fair.

2. When somebody shows you who they are, believe them.

3. Be true to yourself and reach for your dreams.

 

[tedhowe]

# 1 is from my grandmother. She didn't coin the saying, but had it written on a piece of paper that was found while cleaning out her apartment that she lived in independently until she suffered a stroke at age 92. That was about 12 years ago and she only lived less than a year before. I finally came across the correct original attribution last year. It is from Joseph Campbell.

"We cannot rid the world of sorrow, but we can choose to live in joy."

Those, in my mind, are truly words to live by. It's all about how the way that you choose to respond to the world around you is always, and in its entirety, your choice.

#2 is a belief that I have had for my whole life, and I was not able to articulate until I read the book from famous physicist and lecturer Richard Feynman. I've paraphrased the title of his book "The Pleaseure of Finding Things Out" and I have made it a motto of mine.

"Never lose the wonder and pleasure of finding things out."

If only accomplish one thing as a parent, and that thing is to instill these two values in my daughters, then I feel I will have succeeded in my parenting.

 

[_queenie_]

I could think of a lot (DH is big on these types of phrases) so I can't commit to any being on the top of my list, but here are a few good ones:

Always show your true colors and steer clear of people who don't.

Life and the world is what you make it, make it great for you and everyone else.

Happiness is not living beyond your means because it will come back to bite you.

Never deny a little thing called charma because what goes around comes around!

Always know who your real friends are.

Eat well, live long, laugh often.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other guy to die.

Boredom is not an option.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other guy to die.

This is PRICELESS. I love it. I'm using it from now on.

 

[_queenie_]

Here's one more I want to add:

Make every decision as if it were your first and is going to effect every upcoming moment of your life, but also as if it were your last and the only thing you'll remembered by.