Laying the Foundation For Our Children

Laying the Foundation For Our Children We owe it to ourselves and to our children to develop a connection with our community. Become involved and step outside of our own selfish needs and wants, if only for a few hours a month. Not only is this extremely gratifying, it will makeyou a better person. One day as I was delivering a workshop to help transitioning job seekers understand how to spread the word that they were seeking employment, I asked the question Who do you know? I asked them to begin writing down the names of people that they could talk to. One man was staring at me so I asked him if he had a question. With anger in his voice he told me that he lived in the country; his closest neighbor was a mile down the road. He continued by saying his only family was his mother who lived in a retirement home. He alsodeclared that he did not keepin touch with his co-workers. Hedenied thatany of these people could help him anyway. I tellthis one story as an example of the hundreds of similar excuses I have heard as to why people cant talk to anyone- they dontknow anyone.(Yes, thereis another underlyingissue here, fear. I wont tackle thatnow.) I grew up ina magical neighborhood offamilies with children. We ranged in age from 2 to20. In the summer, we wouldall play flashlighttag in a barn forhours. In the fall, we would wait at the bus stoptogether. In winter, we would sled or ice skate en-masse. I grew up expecting that is the way it should be. My parents were active in the community. We belonged to church and I sang in the church choir. Westayedat the after-service coffee hour much longer than Iwould have liked. My mom volunteeredwith numerous organizations. We could continue to pull inside our garages andnever step foot on the front porchto meet ourneighbors (oh,you dont have onefunny,I guess they stopped putting those on houses when our society felt they wereno longer important). We could continue to lead insular and isolated lives. We could continue to accumulate stuff to fulfill our needs. But,I believe that would be a huge mistake. This world issmall and getting smallerand flatter. Interpersonal relationships are the crux of how we will developand compete. So set the example, let your families know,school is about getting good gradesAND more. Force them to join an activity Volunteer with them Enjoy your community Lead by example Our teensand societyare Narcissistic, help them to understand how they fit in the bigger picture.