June. The month for Children's Day, Father's Day, Flag day. A month for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, bridal showers, weddings, graduations, family reunions and the celebration of family. I find it very interesting that Children's Day and Flag Day fall on the same day and Father's Day and the first day of summer are also on the same day this year.

It is such a joy to listen to the children, for they seem to be our master teachers. One boy, a fifth grader said, "Without my father, it would be like a ball without any air inside it." It seems that something in every child, no matter how old, yearns to be connected with his father in an affirming relationship. Their heartfelt responses can really warm your heart. A recent Gallup Poll brought out that 70% use very positive words like "great," "fantastic," "tremendous," "close," or "warm" in describing their relationship with their father. Dr. Ken Canfield, Director of the National Center on Fathering states, "Children, particularly when they are young, think their father is the smartest, richest and strongest man on earth. Research and the experience of fathers confirms this statement."

And how do we describe our children and our grandchildren? The sainted Erma Bombeck, who is famous for her column, "At Wit's End," wrote in an article which appeared in May 1977, that "bringing up children is like flying kites." The following are her warm thoughts: "I see children as kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless, they crash, you add a longer tail. They hit the rooftop, you pluck them out of the spout. You patch and comfort, adjust, and teach. You watch them lift by the wind and assure them that someday they will fly. Finally, they are airborne but they need more string and you keep letting it out. With each twist of the ball of twine there is a sadness that goes with the joy, because the kite somehow becomes more distant and you know that it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together. And soar as it was meant to soar, free and alone. Only then do you know that you did your job.

A bit of wisdom: The best things to give a child - roots and wings. H. Carter. There's just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go. And that is to travel that way yourself. Abraham Lincoln. Give your child or grandchild a hug!

Warm Thoughts from the Little Home on the Prairie Over a Cup of Tea by Luetta G Werner

Published in the Marion Record June 4th, 1998.
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Till next time,

Trina