Today I wanted to share with you a little about my grandma, Shirley David, whom we recently lost. Her passing was expected, but still it's very hard. Grandma was incredibly influential to me and so many others. She is the one my dad and I cowrote our parenting book with (link below.) She influenced my parenting because she never stopped being creative with her parenting ideas. She always tried to see the greater issue in a problem, not the symptom. Plus, she really, really cared which was evident in all she did. Even her great grandchildren would refer to her as their “friend.”
She always asked real questions, trying to get to the heart of the person. Instead of asking her children how their school day went (because their answer would just be, “good”) she would ask them things like, “What happened in art class?” “What did the teacher say about that project coming up?” “What did your friends bring for lunch today?” etc. She knew how to get the conversation going. She was a pro at that.
She also did so many fun things, like she had songs for difficult childhood things like getting out of bed early and obeying your parents. You could not help but smile or laugh when she would start singing and that tension would be gone. Overall, she just made things fun.
She will be missed, but her impact will live on for a long, long time. For me, I will miss calling her when I am stuck in parenting. She always had the best ideas to get me thinking more creatively about solving a problem. I have learned from her to be an encourager, use rewards and incentives, and to truly care. Children notice. Adults notice. And it makes a difference.
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