Author Archives: Joyce Godwin

About Joyce Godwin

Everyone who comes to our house enters through the back door. We love it that way. So this blog is about seeing things through our back door. Our two children, Trey and Jamie, moved away from home long ago and started their own families. Now we have seven grandchildren. We have four more who live close by whom we've adopted and who add joy to our lives daily. Billy Wayne sells real estate while I serve a daily newspaper as news editor.

John McCain for President

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Texas Chairman of the Railroad Commission Michael Williams gave an inspiring nomination speech at the Republican National Convention where he made the official nominating speech for the presidential candidate.

The text of his speech is well worth the read. It’s inspiring, right on target and here it is:

“My friends, as a Republican who has held statewide elected office in Texas for a decade, I am proud and deeply aware of the historic significance of this election.

“But I am here with you in St. Paul, rather than being in Denver last week, because I believe values and ideas take precedence over the politics of demography and identity. And, because I know John

“McCain is ready to lead.

“Change is just a slogan when the ideas are as old as McGovern, Carter … and dare I say, here in St. Paul … Mondale, too. This election is a choice between a siren song of change without true demonstration, and an independent maverick with a real record of reform.

“When Mr. Obama was choosing his running mate, he said the standard should be whether that individual is ready to be president. But I have to ask: shouldn’t the same standard apply to the Democrat at the top of the ticket? Americans need not risk our future and our peace on a false promise of hope.

“John McCain is ready to lead.

“John McCain has always put his country first. He put America ahead of his campaign when he advocated the right surge for an unpopular war. He put his comrades and country ahead of his personal comfort during the Vietnam War.

“That’s why I’m so glad to know that when John McCain travels to foreign lands as President he will not apologize for America’s strength, but assert it.

“He knows that keeping the peace comes from projecting our strength … that America is the greatest beacon of liberty in an uncertain world … and that foreign leaders, whose deeds speak louder than their diplomacy, must earn the right to sit down with the President of the United States.

“America’s hope is in a seasoned, strong leader in this dangerous world … someone to take on the forces of mediocrity that put unions ahead of the teachers and students they teach … a fighter to tackle the Washington culture of waste … and a President who knows in the core of his soul that human life begins at conception.

“John McCain is ready to lead.

“For energy security, we need to explore more, conserve wisely and aggressively pursue alternatives.

“We can responsibly drill for oil and natural gas here in America and protect God’s creation.

“These things are not mutually exclusive. America cannot say no to clean coal…no to nuclear power…and no to offshore exploration.

“That may be good for Saudi Sheikhs, but it’s bad for American families.

“With rising electricity rates and soaring gasoline prices, Democrats say “turn down the air in your home,” and, “increase the air in your tires.”

“That’s not an energy policy … that is an Obamanation!

“When the Michigan factory worker builds a pickup truck… and when the Ohio farmer buys that truck… and when that steelworker in Pennsylvania takes that truck to the filling station… they will put more change in their pocket and pay less in taxes under John McCain. That’s the kind of change … John McCain is talking about.

“John McCain … is ready to lead.

“Americans will not fall for identity politics over good ideas … slogans over substance … or promises and platitudes based on wrong policy prescriptions. We have a proven leader with a record of reform who is ready to lead and ready to succeed.

“John McCain will be my President.”

A Real Inconvenient Truth (About Taxes)

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The following was written by Warren Stephens, the president of the company I work for. It made me proud. We published it in the Herald Democrat, the newspaper for which I am an editor, Oct. 15. I hope he writes more. He is spot on.

I have never written a column in one of our newspapers and really had no intention of doing so, but after watching the debate last Tuesday night I feel compelled to put some facts to paper so that readers can make an informed decision about this election. Given the dearth of facts in the current debate, this may not be my only foray into writing for publication! I want to make sure I make the proper disclosures about who I support in this Presidential Campaign. I am the co-finance chair for Arkansas for the McCain Campaign and an ardent free market capitalist. I believe social issues are best left to individuals and while I have strong beliefs about them, I will not interject them into my choice of a candidate. Economics and taxes, on the other hand, are NOT subject to interpretation. Supply and demand curves are real and they work. This column is an attempt to put facts in front of you, particularly as they relate to taxes and the “fairness” of our tax code.

Senator Obama is proposing tax increase for small businesses and the top 5% of tax paying Americans. He says that he will give 95% of Americans a tax cut and he and Senator Biden say it is fair and the “patriotic duty” of the top 5% to pay more. Again, full disclosure, I am in the top 5% and probably the top 1%. The facts, as to who pays taxes, paint a different picture and, for whatever reason, Senator McCain will not use them. The tables below really say it all:
_______Share of total_________
Top 1% Income Taxes Paid
1990 14% 25%
2000 21% 37%
2005 21% 39%

________Share of total________
Top 5% Income Taxes Paid
1990 27% 44%
2000 35% 56%
2005 36% 60%
Source: Treasury Department, October 2007

These statistics are from the U.S. Treasury Department and they reveal a startling and seldom talked about FACT. The top 1% of wage earners in this country pay 39% of the income taxes paid, while the top 5% pay 60%. That’s right, 60% of all income taxes are paid by the same people on whom Senators Obama and Biden want to RAISE taxes. What is more, the percentage paid by this group has increased since the so-called Bush tax cuts. This is a real inconvenient truth for the Obama Campaign.

In 2006, the lower 50 % of wage earners had 12.5% of the income and paid 3.0% of federal income taxes. The 2006 statistics also reveal that the top 5% of U.S. taxpayers paid $616 billion in federal income taxes which was MORE than the remaining 95% of taxpayers’ total of $408.1 billion. Our system could hardly be more weighted to having the wealthy pay more, yet that is precisely what Senator Obama proposes. I will reluctantly accept (for now) that in our society the top wage earners will pay more (in percentage terms) in taxes, but if Senator Obama wants to raise taxes, he should say so. As The Wall Street Journal has been saying, you cannot give a tax cut to people who do not pay taxes. Senator Obama’s plan is a redistribution of income from those that pay taxes to those that do not. It is nothing more than the granddaddy of all welfare plans and voters need to know it. For Senators Obama and Biden to couch this issue as one of fairness and a “patriotic duty” is an attempt to deceive the American public as to the facts.

I am not afraid of Senator Obama becoming President because he is a bad person. Rather I am concerned about his policies and their effect on our economy both in the short and long term. Higher tax rates will discourage investment and capital formation and that is not good for anyone.

Don’t elect Johnnie for President

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My husband, Billy Wayne, and his brother, Johnnie, have a warm and fun relationship as brothers.

Even though Johnnie lives in Tennessee with wife Phyllis and we live in Texas, they stay in close contact with regular telephone and e-mail conversations. They joke about a lot of things, and each enjoys reminiscing about their lives growing up in Midland, halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso.

Johnnie is the older of the two, who enjoyed the life of an only child for six years before his younger brother came on the scene. They were born to John Godwin and Dimple Aiken of Whitesboro and Tioga, after the couple married and moved to Midland so John (known to locals as “Big Boy”) could go to work for the Hughes Tool Company.

Johnnie has been an achiever most of his life, becoming an ordained Baptist preacher before attending college and seminary at Baylor University. Without listing his multitude of accomplishments, I’ll just say he’s a published author whose books have had great successes. He continues to write on a variety of projects and sometimes submits to his local paper.

When Billy Wayne said he plans to vote for Johnnie as a write-in for President, Johnnie expressed his fear to have another President from Midland. He shared a recent article meant to entertain, and I thought our readers might enjoy excerpts from his letter, which Johnnie admits, is too lengthy to publish in the letter-to-the-editor section.

“As wonderful as growing up in Midland was, I basically grew up dumb and provincial about the bigger world. Midland was pretty much the whole world for me. When we Midlanders refer to some direction from Midland, we always use the word ‘down’ — whether referring to Amarillo, Canada or the North Pole. Until I went off to Baylor University, I was so dumb that when someone answered a daily greeting with ‘fair to middling,’ I thought they were meaning something like doing all right in Midland, Texas.

“And when I was growing up, most folks were friendly and honest; but if someone insulted me or challenged me, I gave the typical Midland West Texas reply: ‘Bring it on!’ And I was ready. Really. Ready to settle the matter quickly.

“When George W. Bush was running for President, he explained the chief difference between him and his dad, our former President, was Midland, Texas. That’s what George W. said. Well, I delivered dry-cleaning to the George H. W. Bush family at 1412 West Ohio before they moved upscale in the 1950s. George W. was just one of the Little League boys at that time. As fine as that family was and is, please don’t elect another President from Midland, Texas. Even me.

“Since I left Midland, I have studied political science and history at Baylor (majored in Greek), got graduate degrees, and traveled over most of the known world. I was in Moscow to work at an international book fair three days after the Korean Airliner was shot down in 1983. I was also on the steps of the Russian White House with Alexander Rutskoi on May Day 1991 before 200,000 people. I was helping present him a symbolic copy of the 4 millionth Russian New Testament we were then freely distributing there.

“In Beijing in 1994, I was out in the boonies in a house church where Billy Graham had been just a few months before. Well, you get the idea, I think. Besides these things, I’ve done a world of politics in my life, but most of it in the fields of business and religious publishing, which again might qualify me for President (since I’m a Southern Baptist). I’m not really a Democrat, Republican, Independent, liberal, conservative, fundamentalist; rather, I am an enlightened person with common sense and conviction.

“I’m a bit younger than McCain; but my oldest son is older than Obama. Still, please don’t join my brother and elect me another President from Midland, Texas.

“Well, what matters most then in electing a President? First, I’ll almost guarantee the candidate who gets your vote holds some views you can’t abide but likely will consider the lesser of two evils. So let me mention a few items that are more important to me than partisanship. The president should be a person of integrity. The person needs common sense, decision-making skills, and all the other things that come to mind.

“But the President for whom you vote should be able to practice what a mentor taught me when I became an executive: ‘Johnnie, always hire to your weaknesses.’ No person is really big enough and qualified enough to hold the office of the President of the United States.

“The person elected needs to know that everybody, including himself, is ignorant but just in different ways. He needs to choose a Vice President worthy of succeeding but not intruding on the powers of the President in office. The President needs to cut the rhetoric and decisively move forward on the no-brainers that any commonsense President can figure out. I’m tempted to talk about war, democracy, economy, being green, etc. ad nauseam. But I won’t.

“Just be sure you vote for a President who is courageous in his integrity, enduring in his patriotism but also in his worldwide citizenship concerns, one who will get up every day asking the Pace-setter and Pace-maker what the President ought to exchange this day of life for. Did I mention I’m a preacher as well as publisher?

“Well enough, already! Just form your convictions well, and vote for the best candidate for President and then support whoever resides in the Oval Office. But above all, please don’t elect another President from Midland, Texas.”

Everyone must vote!

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I’ve been worried about this presidential election — afraid my candidate won’t win. I know it will be a disaster if my guy loses. What will I do? How am I going to feel Nov. 5 if the wrong individual gets in the White House?

Well, my questions were answered recently in my weekly Bible study which is all about the life of Moses.

We looked at the 400-year enslavement of the Israelites and learned that God remains the same as yesterday for today and tomorrow. And no matter what happens, God is in control. Now, I’m hoping it won’t take a 400-year enslavement period before we experience relief if the wrong man becomes king of this country. But even if it does, I know that God is in control of my life.

After several weeks of studying the life of Moses, I’m finding lots of interesting life lessons in the pages of Genesis and Exodus.

Now for any of you who may like to find some Biblical advice for the direction in which to cast your vote this year, check out the words in 1Samuel regarding the selection of David as king of Israel. God told the prophet Samuel that what’s important is the heart of the candidate. “Do not look at his appearance or his stature… Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” 1Samuel 16:7.

Or you could just follow my pastor’s advice. Rev. Jimmy Tarrant said Sunday morning, everyone should vote. He cited Isaiah 6:1-4 and explained it was a tough time for Isaiah. King Uzziah had died after maintaining more than 50 years of peace for the people of Judah. During the time Uzziah was faithful to the Lord, he and his nation prospered and much of the strength and influence that had been Israel’s in the days of David and Solomon was restored.

Isaiah was in despair to think of the future of his country without the good king. But God showed Isaiah a vision of God on his throne — completely in control.

Brother Jimmy’s advice? Pray first and then vote for the candidate who shares your Christian values and his comments even drew a muffled cheer from the pews of our church.

This year, in this election, I’m going to follow my pastor’s advice with confidence that God will continue to be in control no matter which side wins. It’s what men are going to do after the election that has me bothered.

See you at the polls.

Respect for Old Glory

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During football season I enjoy a well-rounded tour of Texoma area football stadiums. My assignment is usually a different school each week so, by the end of the season and, now after working this way through seven or eight years of those seasons, I’ve been getting around.

I’ve noticed the last few years, a difference in the response of crowds to the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” before the game kicks off. A few weeks ago, I was shocked to notice a small group of women sitting at a picnic table. When the music to honor Old Glory started, they barely stopped their conversation. They did eventually turn their attention to the flag waving at one end of the stadium, but they never stood.

I’ve been in some stadiums where the fans in stadium seats had mixed reactions when the tribute sounded. Most stood and some placed their hands over their hearts. But many did not.

Two weeks ago, my game was at Blue Ridge. It’s a 1A school in size but seems to have great fans and big hearts. The announcer asked everyone to stand for the playing of “our National Anthem as we honor Old Glory,” and everyone did. I mean EVERYONE.

I looked at the field where the football players and cheerleaders lined up along the field’s side line and every, single one of those students stood up straight, turned toward the stadium’s flagpole and placed their hands over their hearts to show their respect. I don’t remember seeing that in any high school stadium.

Then I looked around at the home stands and it was the same thing. I think patriotism is important to the people in Blue Ridge and it was wonderful to see.

I am honored to write newspaper stories from time to time about our soldiers who serve this country weather in harms way or in less risky situations. I’ve seen up close the price they and their families pay to do what they do and it is significant.

Paying homage to Old Glory is nothing more than showing respect for the principles of our country which is still the greatest nation in the world. Those people who serve to protect her take that respect very seriously and so do I.

Help me spread the word.

Memorial Day

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Uncle Charlie Aiken was one of three veterans from a Whitesboro, Texas family — all involved in World War II.
Charles Aiken, J.C. Aiken and Hubert Aiken have all gone on to be with their maker; Uncle Charlie was the last to go. We celebrated his life at his funeral in July. These are some of the men our family will be remembering this Memorial Day.

In a letter to the editor published in the Herald Democrat Nov. 19, 2006, Paulette Pugh of Pottsboro, Texsa wrote “Don’t we realize that if it wasn’t for these veterans we wouldn’t have a Memorial Day or 4th of July? I just think there should be more attention paid to this holiday by merchants than what it has become or I should say for what it HAS NOT become.” Pugh was lamenting that she had a hard time finding small flags to place on veteran graves for Veterans Day. I agree with her sentiment, not just for merchants but for all of us.

For many of us, Memorial Day is a paid holiday from work. It’s a day families get together in their back yards and put the grill or smoker to work. We don’t always stop to think about the meaning of the day or the men and women who’ve given their lives so we can have the freedom to celebrate such days.

I asked one of our pressmen what Memorial Day means to him and, without taking the time to think about it, Bobby Penn said “It’s for the guys who fought these wars and have fallen to preserve our right to be free.”

Residents of the U.S. do experience freedoms not realized in other countries. I just finished two novels by Khaled Hosseini which helped me understand a little of the Afghanistan struggle under the tyrannical rule of the Taliban. It also made me appreciate even more the life we have in this country.

Our country is divided in opinions today on the right or wrong of a war no one wants, but we still support our men and women doing the fighting. It’s a complicated issue for everyone that can’t be settled in this short space, but I’m proud of our country and its accomplishments since the original 13 colonies were formed.

I’m glad ours is a country that won’t stand by and allow atrocities of a rogue nation continue against its own people. Uncle Charlie landed on the beach at Anzio in WWII and said they lost a man for every step they took. He suffered the rest of his life from injuries received in a battle fought in the days after that costly landing. He understood what was wrong with Hitler’s tyranny. He and others like him are true American heroes.

Today, for Memorial Day, I’m also remembering some of the Texoma area soldiers who’ve paid the ultimate price in battle for this country in recent years like Staff Sgt. Michael Allen Shank, Sgt. Michael Luke Boatright, Spc. Bradon J. Long and Sgt. James P. Muldoon.

Commander Mark Escoe

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Thirty minutes before U.S. Navy Lt. Mark Escoe was to go through his promotion ceremony moving him to the rank of commander, he received a call from the American Red Cross to let him know his father had perished in a house fire in Sherman. He was on his base in Pennsylvania.

Escoe has seen others get this type of devastating news while on active duty and away from home, and in fact, he’s been through it before when his grandmother died, but that didn’t lessen the pain. While in Sherman for his father’s funeral, Escoe took a few moments to share some of his experiences throughout his naval career.

He said the military men and women serving this country must be prepared to experience life’s separations, such as the death of a loved one, from great distances. He explained that the Department of Defense always tries to send people home in cases of serious illness or death if operations allow. Sometimes, it’s just not possible which was the situation in the case of his grandmother’s passing.

“I was close to deployment on the USS Lake Champlain on the 12th of September, right after the 911 attack,” Escoe said. “While it was under way — we were loaded out with weapons — that’s when I got the notice my grandmother passed. Professionally, I just couldn’t leave the ship then.”

Escoe explained further, there is a very literal meaning to the phrase, military family. “We really get our arms around each other during these times. We spend a lot of time to help out those folks who’re hurting.”
Escoe, who will leave for Baghdad in June for his second tour of duty there, said he is proud of having served on the USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), a Ticonderoga class Navy cruiser. In fact, he’s proud of his service in the military and attributes his desire to serve his country in this way to his father’s influence.

“He (Creig Escoe) was a lieutenant when he resigned after serving four years,” Escoe said of his father. “He was never in Vietnam but it was the Vietnam era. He instilled (the desire for) service (in me) at an early age.” So, when Escoe heard the famous inaugural speech by President Kennedy, he was able to identify with and take to heart Kennedy’s famous phrase, “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,”

Escoe said he entered the Navy at age 20 in 1984, and by the passing of two years, he knew it would be a career. “I remember being upset soon after I joined and called my dad complaining about how I didn’t like it and what came back to me from him was the voice of a position of authority telling me to calm down and focus and get back to the duties,” he said. “Dad and I always had great conversations since then and he lived vicariously through me and was excited at my promotion to commander. It was the hardest thing for me to not be able to call him after the ceremony to tell him about it.”

Escoe also shared his thoughts, stressing it is only his opinion, about what is going on in Iraq. He said he has faith in the American governing system so he’s not concerned about who makes it to the White House in the upcoming election. When he leaves in June, he’ll be going to the Multinational Security Transition Command in Baghdad. He said he’ll be training the Iraqis for planning and logistics for 365 days, but if his deployment gets extended, he’ll be OK with that.

“I think the cause is good and I support the cause,” Escoe said. “It’s my impression they (Iraqi people) were happy for us to be there protecting them. They now have democracy — not the same as what we have, but a democracy — and that’s a huge step forward for them. The troops who are there are winning the hearts and minds of the people there.”

The commander added that he believes it’s necessary the troops are over there. “This is our job,” he said. “It’s difficult on us when we have back-to-back tours, especially the Army and Marines, but we are serving our cause. This is what we train for.”

Escoe continued, saying, “There is always a chance we won’t come back but that is the same with fire and police every day. We try to prepare our families the same way.” He also expressed support for President Bush. He said there is no text book for him to follow for what the President is dealing with. “He has been very good at making decisions and standing by them,” he said.

“I don’t think, by any means, this is a lost cause,” he said. “It seems to be difficult for people back home to see the goodness that is going on. I think, if we leave now, we will have left the business undone. Iraqi people depend on the troops to educate and train them and they are doing a terrific job of learning. If we leave too early, the job won’t be complete and that will be the American legacy.

“If we pull out too early, who will ever trust us again? Evil has come and gone through the history of mankind, but over all, the good wins out.”

As Escoe prepared for his father’s funeral, wearing his dress blues and military medals, he wondered about his ability to maintain composure as he would be talking about his dad during the funeral. He reminisced about being a youngster with his sister, Barbie. “My dad was a great story teller and we loved listening to the recounts of what he did as a kid,” he said. “My dad was funny. He has a few quirks, like anyone else, but we were a family.”

The commander compared his relationship with his father as one of shipmates. “You can go six months or 10 years and pick up the phone and act like you just saw each other,” he said. “That is the way my dad and I have been. When you spend a life in the Navy like I have, that’s normal.”

He said, there is a blessing in all of this because he knows where his father is. “He was a devout Christian,” Escoe said. “He taught me much of my faith. I know in my heart of hearts he is with the Lord and I am at peace with it.”

Outlaw Dog

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“What in the world is going on here?”

That, or something like it, was my exclamation when I saw the mess Thursday morning created by our black, Labradore Retriever, Allie, who sees herself as queen of our environment. In other words, everything I “think” is mine, is really hers unless she doesn’t want it and then it’s mine.

As a matter of fact, since she came to live with us in 1995 carried into the house in my sister’s handbag, she’s destroyed my Ryrie Study Bible containing 20 years’ worth of notes, the handle on my Dooney & Bourke purse, my kitchen wallpaper, an oak coffee table, an oak rocking chair, my den carpet, my hallway carpet and various other selected areas of carpet that have lured her into pulling it up or chewing it into oblivion. Numerous Polly Pocket and Barbie accessories have also fallen victim to the carnage.

Allie has been a wonderful member of our family, helping to raise grand children from the cradle and serving as a loyal friend. Her 70-pound stature can be imposing when standing between a sleeping child and anything else. Throughout her life, she’s found it her job to stand watch whenever sleeping babies are in the house, and for five years, it was her nightly station to sleep across the foot of our daughter’s bed or in the doorway of her room until Jamie left for college.

Allie has grown up with one of our adopted grandchildren, Raigan, for whom “Allie, out!” was one of her earliest phrases. It was never unusual to turn a corner in our house and catch a glimpse of Raigan lying on her back to watch a favorite children’s video with her head resting on Allie who was curled up around her.

With that kind of history, I guess I can overlook Wednesday morning when the mess I found was the remains of my lunch. She had dug it out of my bag while I was getter ready to go to work. She ate my hard-boiled eggs, shells and all, as well as the plastic bag they were in. I’ll have to find a higher spot for my lunch from now on.

Turning 60

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I never expected I would see the milestone I’m crossing today. It always seemed like it was over the hill, older than dirt and a carry-over from ancient days. Something I never thought of as applying to me.

You may have guessed already — it’s a birthday. A big one in the eyes of some. I’m turning 60.
But, I don’t feel like 60, and when I look in the mirror, I don’t see 60.

I’m pretty active. I would still play tennis if I had someone to play with. I walk regularly and plan to join a workout gym this year. None of that “sounds” like 60 to me.

I’ve done the math, though. I was born in 1948 and graduated high school in 1966. Yep, I’m 60 alright.

I realize now, what seemed to be soooooo old to me before is not old at all. Am I still middle aged? or am I old? As far as feeling 60, I only have my misguided perceptions of what that would be like, and now I know that was wrong. I’m realizing that feeling my age is a totally subjective thing. This is not how I thought 60 would feel.

I remember my grandmother who came for extended visits in our home while I was growing up. With deep wrinkles in her face and what seemed like an out-dated look at life, she looked more natural in a rocking chair with a quilting needle or crochet hook in her hands, producing yet another work of art, than she would have on a tennis court.

Yep, this age thing is a little difficult to figure out, but that won’t stop me. When I get my answers, I’ll share them with you. In the meantime, you’ll find me in the news room at the Herald Democrat, proud to have lived every one of my 60 years.

I hear from unknown sources that 60 is the new 40. I like that because I think I feel 40 more than I feel 60.

Little feet are following

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One of my Christmas gifts this year was a mother-daughter calendar — one of those flip-style stand-up versions. It’s called “365 treasured moments for Mothers & Daughters.”
And who was my gift from? My sweet daughter, of course.

When I flipped the page for Jan. 6, I read a quote from Hans Christian Andersen: “Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps.” I love this quote. My first thought was to share it with my friends.

I think we get busy into our day-to-day lives, which seem to be more challenging every day. We get focused on making enough money to pay our bills and save enough to live on after the age of 65. Some of us might refer to it as the rat race and others, like my husband, call it the war zone. He also refers to Dallas traffic in the same way.

We seem to get so busy, we forget about the young eyes watching us. Whether we are parents or grandparents, we have youngsters trying to keep up with, emulate or learn from us and this is what we overlook.

Our children are learning how to parent from the way we parent. They are learning how to treat their wives and husbands from what they see in us.

I know there are times, while raising my children (now grown), when I didn’t set aside enough time to spend with them while they were young. Even so, I sometimes recognize myself in some of their actions and, oddly enough, I see some of my parents as well.

I guess that’s just the way families work. We don’t need to over-think this — just be ourselves while remembering our children and grandchildren are watching and trying to keep up. I think Andersen was on the right track in suggesting we make our way easy to follow — easy enough for youngsters to grasp.