go to SLEEEEP - Parenting!!!

How hard is bed time with your kids?

Ok another question.

How hard is it when you stay in a hotel?

Or.

Are there times when out of nowhere your kids at bed time are completely unruly seemingly out of nowhere?

Ok, here are some quick thoughts on what worked for us in our family of four. Our kids span from 2 years to 12, three girls and my boy is 5.

One of the major understandings that came from my learning with Dr. Gordon Neufeld on Neufeld’s Attachment Theory is the need for parents to consider their kids levels of anxiety, and how that effects their level of “attachment” with us. First maybe I should state that the “big idea” of attachment theory is that kids attach to caring adults that lead them to maturation.

Anxiety and sleep.

First lets talk about my 2 year old, who came into some issues this summer with falling asleep. My wife breast fed her – so she used to fall asleep while feeding – that’s fairly easy (said the dad) as you just put the little one down and go on with your evening. But then feeding ended, and we got locked into a pattern of cuddling to sleep – which works, but is necessary to transition out of. And that brought anxiety. And, anxiety and sleep don’t mix – as you probably know from your adult experience?

How do you reduce the anxiety of a two year old? They don’t talk, they don’t reason very well. They only understand a few basic things.

The main thing that causes anxiety in young kids at bed time is what Neufeld calls a “loss of proximity” with those that are caring for them. In other words – they want to hold you close until they drop off into sweet unconscious sleep. Actually holding them till they sleep can raise another issue – what happens when they wake up in the middle of the night and you are not there anymore? You guessed it, more anxiety in the middle of the night!!

Yay.

This is what we did. We played a little game for a couple of weeks, the biggest thing is to give your kids the feeling of being able to hold on to you while you are not there. Just like you who have a best friend, when even if you have not seen that friend in weeks, still know, that you are best friends. The problem is a 2yr old will loose this connection in about 17 seconds, and what you need to do is try and lengthen this out for a longer period of time – until they are able to fall asleep, and through the whole night.

So we played a game, and we started with her capability – 17 seconds. Kiss on the forehead, “dad will be right back” and “daddy is going to come back and kiss you on the forehead” or “Dad is going to come back and give you a hug” and “close your eyes until dad comes back” walk away, close door. Wait – and the trick is to go right back in before they call for you, and what this does is builds trust in what you say you are going to do you do. Now you start lengthening the time – we got up to 2 minuets, and with successive evenings over 2 weeks longer than that. The final things you can do, to actually transition to sleep is then say “Daddy is going to come back and kiss you once you are sleeping.” Here is the biggest thing – follow through on what you said you would do.

One of the most glorious sounds in the world to me (besides the sound of my 4 kids breast feeding – I know weird right) is the sigh a 2 year old makes when you come in to give them that kiss. The sigh is literally, physical, emotional, neurological and psychological all at once, you know this, in the anxious moments you have had, where the anxiety has been removed, or when you are about to fall asleep. When you relax….. ahhhhhh, THAT sigh.

Another really important thing in relationships with those with whom we are attached is something Neufeld calls “Bridging.” Bridging much like in the real world is the act of connecting something which is apart. When you leave someone’s presence we often “Bridge” to the next time we see them. Think about it, you do it all the time, when you are out with you friends, and the evening is drawing to a close, often we make statements like “see you at work tomorrow” or “can’t wait until the next time” or “I will call you tomorrow.” All of these statements and a myriad more are you “bridging” relationships.

Here is what will help older kids – I just did this with my 12 year old – just now at 10:00 (HAH she isn’t asleep yet and I’m writing about how to get your kids to sleep!!!!) But here is the deal – why isn’t she sleeping yet???? Grrrrrr…. Well when I ask….. (remember to get context) I find out, and remember that she is anxious about the fact that her 2 best friends have sleep over birthday parties on the same day. SHOOT that sucks for her, and it givers her anxiety (major girl issues!!) but hey – those are my responsibility as her dad too! So what did I just do? I asked her (as nicely as I could muster – because it IS frustrating – but try to keep bed time positive) “sweety what is wrong” “I’m still worried about being invited to two parties.” “Ok well, I am driving you to school tomorrow, so we will talk about it then.” That is bridging, and it lowers anxiety – tomorrow I will follow through.

 You can bridge with a 2yr old by saying – “see you in your dreams”, or “I’ll kiss you while you are sleeping”

For dads who work away you bridge by saying “dad is going away for a few days, I’ll call when I get to camp” – this lowers anxiety. You can say “I won’t see you till I get home from work, and if I’m late for supper I will text mom.” All of these sayings – and so many more that you will think of, lower the anxiety of our kids and maintain the connection.

Ok back to sleep – we try to end on the positive, say 3 or 4 positive things to each kid about their day, then we makes sure to say to each one, what will happen in the morning, who will be here, what we are going to do.

Hope this helps, happy parenting!!!

slv2all

Bullying - A parents Natural Responsibility Part 2

Bullying.

What is a parent’s natural responsibility?

Lets just let our hearts answer this one.  If you found out, your son or daughter had bullied someone at school to the point that you received a phone call from another concerned adult, how would you feel?

Any hint of a negative emotion around such a phone call – be it angry, frustrated, confused, bewildered…. or even rejecting it as true, denial, or the feeling of not wanting to take responsibility (it is their problem), this emotion means you feel something about this - responsibility.

Let me put it this way – when your child goes onto the ice and scores a goal, how do you feel? I hope you feel proud. I hope you understand, you had something to do with making that goal happen, all of your driving, early mornings, long hours at the rink. The action is theirs – but you are tied to it without question. What about when your child calls someone a “bitch” on facebook, and when you question them, they say “well she is, whatever, it is what all the other kids are saying anyway.” How are we suddenly able to divorce ourselves from their actions saying something like “kids these days.” When we find out our kids are involved in such activity, it should strike a cord deep within us, maybe even a “what could I have done better as a parent” cord.

Bullying, is immature. It is an immature action to try and gain control. As an adult in business, have I been bullied? Yes. Have I also bullied someone else? Yes.

As a child was I bullied? Yes. Did I bully someone else? Yes.

Is your child a bully?

Is mine?

?

Have I watched my 12 year old and my 9 year old cause my 5 year old to come to tears, because they unfairly ganged up against him and would not let him do something that he had every right to do?

?

Are my children bullies?

Hard questions. My answer is Yes. Because denial never helped anyone.

 Kids are immature. They do stupid things. They say stupid things. They hurt each other’s feelings. They pretend they don’t care. They divorce their actions from consequences “well I didn’t mean to,” or, “Well I didn’t know she would feel that way” or, “Well he did it to me so I just did it back.” Doesn’t all of that sound normal?

Kids are immature – on their way to maturity. Think about all the things you could not do the day you were born, that you do without even thinking about it now.

Kids are emotionally immature, relationally immature, physically immature, and every single interaction they have is teaching them who and how and what to be as an adult.

How do bullies start? Well they start in grade 1, calling someone a sissy, or a fag. And, this uncorrected action, leads into a habit, that destroys their concept of self worth, and the worth of those around them. Bullies – the kind that would post nude pictures of a 13 year old girl online unrelentingly – are not born overnight. They don’t just wake up one day, and decide, hey I know what lets do, lets try wrecking lives!!! They have low self esteems, they are highly peer oriented, and they thrive off of the rush of exploitation and control of their victims, they are often times themselves recipients of abuse, that was unchecked, they are often psychologically damaged, their hearts are damaged to the point that they feel no remorse for their actions.

So are my children bullies? And am I bully? – well maybe not in the extreme sense.

How did we get from the grade 1 kid calling someone a pussy, to the extreme forms of bullying we see today?

Highly Peer Orientated Youth culture.

Who’s responsibility is it?

Parents.

You and me.

What do we have to do?

I live in oil country, Alberta, we have a saying here of people that put their whole heart into the things they are responsible for, It is called the GAS factor. When an employee goes above and beyond – they have the GAS factor. When a business notices a negative tweet – and fixes the problem in a positive way – they have the GAS factor. When people stay late, to get the job done, to save the boss from paying for another days travel – they have the GAS factor.

What does it stand for?

Give A Shit

Care!!!!!

I once was in Nordegg with a buddy, and we found what we thought was a logging road, so we thought we would drive it for a bit, soon we had no choice, we were going up!!! To narrow to turn around, we wound our way, around and around and around to the top of a mountain, know what we found there? GAS. We found that someone had built the most immaculate, intricate, ….I don’t even know what it was really, in the middle of nowhere, a top-of-a-freaking-mountain-GAS-and-oil-thing. I don’t know exactly what it was…

Do you know what I know for a fact? It took the GAS factor to get it there!  Men and women had the GAS factor, a lot of hard work, grit sweat, blood and tears, and we could point to other accomplishments in this province, I could point you to the new Bow tower in down town Calgary. Or to our many river crossings, or the 100’s of 1000’s of gas lines that criss-cross this province so we can all enjoy the convenience of nature gas, or the many many kilometers of paved roads we are so blessed with, or our world class cities, I could go on and on. I’ve seen it. Good old Alberta GRIT – through and through, people that care, fracers that work their asses off, and women holding down the fort at home – we got it in spades in this province, because we “Give A Shit” about the stuff put in front of us.

So here it goes.

I’m putting something else in front of you, that I need you to care about, that I need you to apply the GAS factor to.

Relationships

Relationships between men (over beer or coffee)– “hey man, marriage and working away can be tough – how is it going?”

Relationships between women (over beer or coffee) “Hey there, managing a house, and a business is hard, how is it going?”

And finally, relationships with our kids. These relationships are VITAL to their successful maturing into adulthood. I need you to apply the GAS factor, and this is what I know what will happen if you do. You will succeed. Want to know how I know you will? Because of all of your other success in the past, because you are reading this, because you care, because you give a shit about your kids, about our community, their schools, their education. Because something inside the story of a young teen committing suicide, pisses you off. Because something inside you has regret – even if it is just a touch of it for the things you have done wrong in the past. And now it is time to correct those wrongs through your kids.

Make eye contact with them every day, when they come home from school, ask them how they are doing – listen, put the phone down, get off of facebook – or pintrest, or the game console, get down on the floor lay on your back and read a book to a two year old. Ask a 12 year old about something they take an interest in, get into their face, between them and the TV, in a friendly way, look them in the eye – and ask them how they are, how was school, what do your friends talk about, what happened at the party, etc etc etc. Ask ask ask ask ask ask.

What does not caring look like? We use words like hope. Do your kids bully other kids at school – “I hope not.” Is your 13 year old sexualy active “I hope not.” Are your young boy looking at hardcore porn on the internet – “I sure hope not.” Well, one more thing about the GAS factor – at work we never use the word “hope.”

“Will that weld hold?”

“Do we have enough fuel?”

“Do we have enough material to finish the job?”

“Is there enough food and drinks for that many people?”

“Do we have enough time?”

“Do we have enough wire”

‘Do we have enough FRAC fluid and sand?

I hope so.

I hope so?

I don’t think so, that isn’t the GAS factor, you either know or you don’t, if you don’t you find out, you damn well do it right, and the weld holds every single time. Same goes for relationships – if you don’t know, find out, take responsibility for those you are responsible for.

Know.

If you find confusion – do the same thing you would do in the field – ask questions, get help, every person that displays the GAS factor puts their head on their pillow knowing they did their level best that day, with a mental checklist of what they need to do better tomorrow – every day.

Bullying is persistent and unrelenting, it starts young, builds into habits, the worst, are kids unconnected from caring adults, highly peer orientated, if they had deep caring relationships with their parents they wouldn’t be bullies, they would have stopped bullying before it got serious, as they learned to care about others. If your kids are young and you find out they have been bullying “gather them” – get in their face in a friendly way, and have a conversation – talk about other options, tell them what your family values are, take responsibility for what you are responsible for.

Now get to work. You can do it – I know you can, because you have the GAS factor, get to know your kids again.

slv2all

Bullying - a parents natural responsibility

Bullying.

What is a parents natural responsibility?

No one I have met, would say that a parent isn’t 100% responsible for an infant. Recently many online friends have or about to experience the natural wonder of childbirth. My online friend Becky Ainsley was the last person I know, who’s heart melted at the little bottom quivering lip of her infant son – see her story here: http://www.thebexfactor.com/2012/10/16/meet-mr-liam-john/

No one denies the responsibility of a parent at these moments. Infants are completely reliant on us, to feed, clean, nurture, connect.

So ok, that is a 1 week old, or, a 1 year old. What about a 12 year old?

I would argue that you are still 100% responsible but the role has changed.

Lets look at it this way – our job as parents is to nurture and protect our kids, until they are living breathing, contributing, fully aware adults, able to make their own responsible ethical and moral decisions, fix their own mistakes, and forge out their own lives. Can a 12 year old do that? Can they drive? Hold a job? Pay a mortgage?

Can a 15 year old? – still dependant?

16?

17?

25?

Where is the magic line?

Think about this, at your age – be it 28, 35, 40, 20, 22, what do you still need and want from your parents? Maybe it is a past regret – what do you wish they had done, maybe your parents have passed on, what do you still long for? A connection? An ear? Advice? A shoulder? Help? Guidance? Then how much more does a 12 year old need this? Amanda Todd was 12 when she made a mistake online.

For some reason, the industrial revolution pushes kids to early independence, if you listen to us, or watch us, parents start saying things like:

 “I don’t know”

“I don’t care”

“that is your choice, your consequences”

“Why should I help you with that”

“You made your own bed now you have to sleep in it”

Most of these statements – are probably true in their own right with a number of situations, the problem is what they convey to a young child’s mind. To the exact same issue, a parent could just as easily say (copy this list – I want it to be your mantra – your lines to rehearse and say, every day to your kids):

“I will take care of you”

‘this sucks, we will take care of it together”

“Sometimes we make mistakes – I want to help you fix it”

“I’m not sure, but Dad will help you find a solution”

“Every action we take has consequences, but I Love you, and we will see it through together”

“my love is deeper than any hole you could dig, I’ll help get you out of this”

There are many stages of maturing that go on with kids:

For a while they can’t eat – we provide!

For a while they can’t walk – we carry them!

For a while they can’t talk – we seek to understand them!

For a while they get sick – we spend hours in the ER!

For a while they do crazy stupid things – we bandage them up!

For a while they try new skills and fail – we encourage them to go on!

For a while they get hurt in relationships – we talk listen and comfort them!

For a while they struggle with their studies – we sit down with them!

For a while they get a job – we joyfully provide the transportation!

For a while they have dreams – we listen, encourage, and believe!

For a while they run into evil people – we protect their hearts!

Ok, so how?

It is your responsibility to “GATHER” your kids. Every day, multiple times a day, until they are out of your house, then even as adults, when you see them, gather them, connect with them ask how they are doing.

How?

It will all be in the eyes. And you know that this is true. How do I know it? – You experience it just like anyone else. Every single day. You do this with your friends like this:

You go out for coffee, they walk in, they don’t make eye contact, they are searching out the floor, there is no smile, they get coffee, sit, still they don’t look at you in the eye, they wait for you to say something, but, they haven’t engaged yet. Uncomfortable? They were fine yesterday, in fact yesterday they were happy and looking forward to coffee. Today they are – not here…. More uncomfortable moments pass, you have some small talk, weather, kids… but there is no connection, then not being able to stand it you say “Jill, what’s wrong?” you can see tears whelm up in her eyes, she is still unwilling to say anything, you instinctively reach out, and touch her hand, and then it happens, the tears come, the regret pours out, the story comes, about the fight they had, and the things she said, and THERE IT IS – WHAM, eye contact!!! Connection made. It is one of the magical things about human interaction. Now to flip the switch – it is your responsibility as a parent – to make this same deep connection with your kids – every single day. In the morning, after school, after hockey practice, after lunch…. Multiple times, every day, until you are tired of it, until you know in your heart – that they have been connected with – until they hear you and you hear them. Connect until it drives them nuts - and then turn it into giggles...(just tell them sheepishly that your nuts about them)...

Bullying

What has happened?

Kids are unconnected from their parents. And the human spirit, does not like a lack of connection – deep within us, is the primal instinct to be known, to be understood, to be heard, to be cared for.

And when kids get yelled at by their parents. When their parents say they "don’t care," when parents push their kids away to their rooms. When parents don’t "give a shit about [their] kids petty problems." When parents tell their kids to “deal with it” themselves. Kids are still longing for a connection – what happens? They connect with each other. Dr Gordon Neufeld in his ground breaking work on Attachment Theory calls it “Peer orientation.” When kids “don’t give a fuck what mom and dad think” and they instead listen to their friends about all things sexual, drugs, alcohol, friends, relationships, online activity, you have a problem. Why? Because teenagers are fickle, mean, on and off relationships – in short, they are not mature, and they were never intended to “Hold each others hearts” – that is what parents – or concerned, caring adults are for.

I have no control over bullies. I have no control over a major portions of my 12yr olds day. I don’t want her to be bullied, but she will be. And this does not mean, that I can’t hold her heart, engage with her every day, ask her how she is doing, and make eye contact with her. Every one of her problems is my problem - my responsibility.

Here is a list of things that keep us from making eye contact:

When you tell a lie

When you make a mistake

When we are hurt

When we feel vulnerable

When we fail

When we have done something shameful

When we have stolen something

When we have had a bad day

When we have hurt someone else

When we engage in something non age appropriate - sex, drugs, alcohol

If your kids won’t look you in the eye – something is wrong, it is your responsibility to figure out what. To keep your relationship the safest place on earth for them, and just like Bex ( @beckyainsley ), what wouldn’t mother bear do to protect her “little monster” from all the evil in this world? Just like her, it is your responsibility to maintain the connection, protect, guide, nurture, listen, talk, praise, and find the way out of any mess life brings – holding hands together.

slv2all

P.S. a lot of these thoughts come from Dr. Gordon's ground breaking work on Attachment Theory - read his book Hold on to your kids, go to his website for more info www.gordonneufeld.com

Defended

It was mere hours after her husband left for yet another 2 week stint in the oil field, when her 3 year old daughter started complaining, tugging at her ears. She rested her hand on her forehead. Fever. She got her thermometer, and sure enough 104 – time to go to the hospital, oh how she had wished the fever had broke earlier. She loaded the kids in the car, and just got going when she realized the gaslight was on, children crying, one with a fever – and ‘THIS IS WHEN I NEED GAS? The gas light stared back at her as she pulled out the driveway. 10:55, she hoped to get to the gas station before it closed. She pulled up just as the station lights went off, and a man flipped over the open sign.

Closed.

Clearly the hours of operation said closed at 11:00. She got out, and approached the door, the man says curtly through the door – “I’m closed” she pleaded- looking at her watch and the sign “but it says 11:00.” “Tell someone who cares!” he scowled. “Please Sir, I’ve got two kids in the car, no gas and I’m on the way to the hospital – “Look lady (still through the door) the pumps are off, the till is off, I’M CLOSED!” waving both hands in the air. “I’ll speak to your manager about this!” she half yells as he turns and walks away from the door to the back of the store, he stopped, and turned back, almost rushing at her “I AM THE FUCKING MANAGER!!”

Her fists clench, a wave of something like adrenalin flushes over her, she goes numb from the top of her head this wave passes over her entire body – and somewhere in her fear, rage, and concern for her little ones, she decides.

“I’m never coming back here again. “

Ever.

She hops in her car, the needle now shoes bellow the ‘E’, – ‘Oh no, I just wasted 5 minutes arguing with this jerk, now the next station will surely be closed,’ she drives down the street, and sure enough sees the next gas stations lights shut off – the clock on the dash says 11:01. Tears begin to whelm, as she imagines herself calling someone – or, even trying to hitch a ride with two small kids, she pulls into the driveway as she sees a man locking the front door and getting in his truck.

As she approaches he turns and warmly smiles, as he walks towards her, rolling down the window, “how can I help you ma’am?”

“Sir – my kids are sick, I’m heading to the hospital and I’m right out of gas.” He looks around the car – first at the dash – the needle on the E, then at the kids in the back seat, then back at her.

“Well, the store is closed, I just locked up, to bad you were not here 5 minutes ago…

But, tell you what, uh, pull up to my truck.”

As she pulls up, he notices him reach into the back of the truck for a jerry can.

“I was going to go quading tomorrow morning with my son, but I can just come back here quick in the morning,” he says as he removes the gas cap of her car, and begins to put the nozzle of the jerry can together, she begins to take her seatbelt off, noticing he says, “don’t worry, just stay there, I ‘ll get it.”

“So how old are your kids?” He says as he lifts the jerry can and starts pouring it in her car.

“My boy is 16 months and my daughter with the fever is 3.”

“Is she teething?”

“No, ear infection I think, but she has also had a chest cold.” “Ya, always seems to come all at once.

My son was like that, seems like every new tooth was accompanied by a head cold, chest cold, or fever. She will be fine – but you can never be sure – better safe than sorry.”

She laid her head back on her headrest, and thought to her self how thankful she was for this man.

“So how long have you worked here?”

“Since I bought it in 2007” he says smiling warmly, “we’ve had our rough patches, I had to replace the roof a year after I bought it, just about put me under, so my Dad had to help me out, did you know it costs like $30,000 to put a new roof on that building?”

“No – really” she says,

“Ya, but I believe as long as your honest, and you care about people, that the creator will take care of you.”

She sat in the silence, listening to the gas pour into her gas tank, when she realize, ‘Crap I don’t have any cash!’

“There, that’s 25 liters, that should get you to the hospital and back..”

She sheepishly spoke , “I’m feel so horrible, I don’t have cash, do you want to hold my credit card?”

“Nope – I don’t want your money, tell you what, the next time someone is in need – just give back to the universe the same as it was given to you. The creator, always takes care of His children, especially those who take care of each other.”

She wished she had time to ask him about his philosophy, as it wasn’t until now, that she noticed this man was aboriginal.

“Sir are you,” (she stumbled with how to ask) into the pause he said jokingly – “am I an Indian?”

Um ya?

“Metis, come back, I’ll tell you my story.”

“Thanks so much, you are a life saver”

As she drove away – another feeling washed over her, not has powerful, not as predominate, it was hard to describe.

It felt more like a hug.

“I’m definitely coming back” she thought as she waved goodbye.

Defended-ness.

I want you to think about the places you will never go back to.

Or

Think about the things you never want to talk about – with anyone.

Why?

There is a natural thing that happens – in our brains, that is actually a natural protection mechanism; Psychologists call it the brain defending itself. It happens like in the first situation above, or in extremely stressful things like a sudden car accident, or even when you cut yourself. It can be described as shock. The brain actually shields itself with a wall of endorphin like chemicals, to protect itself from harm. When we make decisions in these moments – they stick HARD and the more often they happen, the more hard they stick. Sometimes this is extremely helpful. For instance, somewhere along the way you discovered when you see the light on the curling iron, or, hover your hand over it to see if it is warm, instead of just grabbing it when you want to put it away. That ONE TIME you grabbed it hot – and it burned you, you “decided” that you would never let that happen to you again – endorphins rushed through your body, and forever – you have learned your lesson.

Burned you. Learned your lesson.

Or we could punctuate that a different way:

Burned, you learned your lesson.

Who has burned you? And, What lessons have you “learned?” This same thing happens to us in relationships, and, this same thing is happening around us, around you. The way you speak, the way you act, the way you parent, the way you are a friend, the way you are a boss, the way you are a co-worker. You are having these lasting impacts on people. Often we take our own defended-ness, and unfortunately push that forward to another generation, or to others who haven’t even hurt us, or been a part of our pain.

Think about your “resolution thoughts” where do they come from? Why are they there? How long have they been there? And have you necessarily made the right choices in the things you have firmly “decided on.” For instance maybe you have decided, “I am never going to be hurt again” but building that wall of defended-ness, where has it left you? Alone? Behind everyone’s current day actions are a life of previous days actions and reactions. Each of those decisions building the person you are today. In some circumstances you have built walls that damage you today, hurt others today, and generally are not helpful. So what do you do about this? To this I would like to offer you a word Perspective. The first thing you need something we all need. Like an athlete, you can’t properly see what is wrong with your stride, what needs adjustment in your slapshot, what needs tweaking in your golf swing, without perspective. You, we, ALWAYS need an outside look at an inward reality. You need others to look at you and tell you what you see – this is the main issue – you have to allow others to look in. The second thing is almost more important, you need a healthy perspective of others. You can’t just view their present day reactions and actions in and of themselves, you have to view them in a context of a whole life, and ask yourself (and them if they allow you) what set of circumstances resulted in this behaviour. Added to both of these is the powerful dynamic of Love – or call it unconditional positive regard if you’re uncomfortable with the L word. You have to CARE. People were not born this way, people MATURED this way, and somewhere in their natural maturation process maybe some things got stuck, and if you are about helping them get unstuck, then they need your unconditional love, and acceptance.

In light of this, here is an illustration – let’s end our short story differently:

She wished she had time to ask him about his philosophy, as it wasn’t until now, that she noticed this man was aboriginal.

“Sir are you,” (she stumbled with how to ask) into the pause he said jokingly – “am I an Indian?”

“Um ya?”

“Metis, come back, I’ll tell you my story.”

“Thanks so much, you are a life saver, hey just wondering the guy who owns the other Gas station is sure a jerk hey? I bet you get a lot of business from him just because he doesn’t treat people nice?”

“You mean Fred? From up the street? “He said with a hint of surprise in his voice. “Oh, no, Fred couldn’t be a nicer guy, he is just in a really rough spot right now. What happened?” “Really?” Her nose scrunched up as she said it, “He was just locking up early and treated me horribly!!”

“Oh no,” his shoulders slumped as he seemed to struggle to get the words out. “Well, did you hear about that accident a couple of months back where the drunk driver plowed into the mini van, and killed the mother and three kids?”

“Ya,”

“That was Fred’s family,” tears whelmed in his eyes as he looked into the night sky, “the night the accident happened Fred was supposed to drive them to his son’s hockey game, but one of his employees called in sick, so Fred went in to close. To be honest I think he probably hates locking that place up now because it probably reminds him of that night. I was surprised to see him there so late tonight. Like I said, he is in a rough spot. I’ve asked the creator many times why that would happen to such a nice man, sometimes the universe just returns stillness, Fred wa such a loving father and good husband. I think Fred,” He went on “I think he resents things so much, that he built a great fire around his heart to protect himself. Now anyone who gets close, gets burned. He does not treat his workers with the respect they deserve, they quit, and then he has to work harder. It’s a vicious cycle Fred is in.”

“Oh my that is so sad,” her heart suddenly changed for him, now instead of a heartless shopkeeper who didn’t care, she saw a broken lonely father, and loving husband that had lost everything.

“My prayer to the creator is that Fred would be able to forgive himself, but he has a really long journey ahead of him. The only thing that puts this fire out is time, and love.” Anyway, I won’t keep you any longer.” He said lifting the Jerry Can into his truck as she began to pull away….”Hey! And remember – don’t forget to pay it forward!” He said with a wide smile.

The hospital visit, went fairly routine, her child was fine, the Dr. gave her a prescription for ear drops and asked she fill it immediately, “there is an all-night pharmacy open – the shoppers drug mart.” “Ok” As she drove there she wondered about the things she had heard this night and realized, she didn’t even know his name! As she waited at the pharmacy, an unbelievable thing happened.

Fred walked in.

Her heart leapt, and she didn’t know what to do, as he got up to the counter next to him, with his prescription, she overheard the conversation with the pharmacist, something about sedatives, or something about sleeping pills – her heart ached for him, and what he must go through in an empty house, that used to be teaming with life, she left the counter and went to the check out. Thankfully Fred obviously did not recognize her, as he stood behind her in line, she finished checking out and was getting the kid jackets zipped up when she overheard the cashier asking him for the payment, she watched him realize he did not have his wallet – “Well isn’t that just great,” he grumbled “I’ll be back,” he said with a humph. Surprising herself, she turned to him, and after a moment of awkward silence, asked

“How much is it?” “What difference does it make to you?” He grumbled as he tried to walk past her. “Well if I could save you the long trip, look just,” she stuttered as she half blocked his path, “how much is it?”

“25 dollars” he curtly said, trying to side step her – instantly, like a movie flashback she heard the voice of the gas station owner asking her to pay it forward,

“the next time someone is in need – just give back to the universe the same as it was given to you. The creator, always takes care of His children, especially those who take care of each other.” “25 liters, that out to get you to the hospital and back”

“Can I please take care of it for you?” She asked

“No! Its fine,” he said shuffling past her in the narrow sliding doorway.

As the door slid open, she said “No I insist,” she instinctively reaching for and grabbed his hand, - her actions surprised her probably more than they did him.

They stood there, door open, his hand in hers, for what seemed like an awkward eternity. He stared at her had, now squeezing his. She noticed the wedding ring still on his finger. Tears whelmed up in her eyes. “Please” she said as he slowly turned them back to the till, leading him back, He stumbled through the words, “but how will I find you to pay back?” as she pulled out her debit card, she explained, “I don’t want to be paid back, a friend of mine, well, that is, someone I met tonight did a favour for me tonight, and he asked me to pay it forward.” “I don’t know what to say” he muttered, struggling to make eye contact.” “Don’t say anything, maybe it’s just the creator,” she grimaced trying to figure out what to say, “or something, uh, maybe it just me showing you I care.” She quickly blurted out crumpling the receipt and stuffing it in her pocket. As she gathered the kids, he said, “Thank you, it seems there is some goodness in the universe after all.”

As they got into the car her daughter asked her “Mommy, who was that man and why did you pay for his stuff.”

“He’s a man just like us honey, and like us tonight, he was just in a rough spot and needed a bit of help.”

We are all connected.

What you say matters, who you are matters. Unconditional positive regard (LOVE) is not a part of our regular vocabulary, we have become a consumer society fixated on ourselves. We need to look at things from other people’s perspectives and let it deeply touch our hearts.

What are you afraid of?

To the kids we raise, we need to provide a place – a home- that exudes love and caring and peace so they do not build walls of defended-ness against us. To our love ones, we MUST be love, and caring, we must move with compassion every day. Love and caring RAPIDLY tear down the walls of defended-ness, And where Love isn’t able to tear down a wall, it climbs it, to see what is on the other side. These interactions revealing the purity of human souls before life got in the way, longing to be known and understood. When you are tired at the end of the day, like a runner, you must press on to the goal which is in good news to all people around you, that you have a bit more to give, a bit more patience a bit more love.

You have goodness in your heart, but it might be hiding behind a wall of bricks, or a raging fire you have built to protect it. Find it, smash through the defended-ness of your past, get your friends to help you. Put out the fire. And when you are ready give it away to someone else, who, is just like you, today, in a rough spot who needs a bit of help.

slv2all