Instagram Message: "Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow." - Reed Markham. If you have a bunch of favorite quotes and don't know what to do with them, check the blog. Circa 2012 Father/Daughter Dance.
Before my daughter was born, for Christmas 2006, my mother-in-law gave the hub a book entitled Father to Daughter: Life Lessons on Raising a Girl. I think the hub picked it up once over the ten years - maybe not even to read but to use as a coaster. So recently, when my brother was out for a visit, I was going to give him the book because he has a cute little daughter now. Right before I was going to hand him the book, I flipped open the cover and saw that I had written a list - Things Bella did with Daddy. Just the two of them: went Trick or Treating, ran a 5K (w/Bella in a stroller) on Father’s Day, saw a movie in a theatre, went sledding, went to the Minnesota Zoo and Easter Egg Hunt 2009. Aw, reading that list just made me melt. I decided to keep the book. But I also wanted to share it with my brother.
Over the years I have received a few books that fall under this type of genre. You know, the books that have wonderful bits of information, profound quotes and insight all compiled together and put into one little package. I L-O-V-E these types of books but I have to ask - does anyone else out there think it’s a little overwhelming to get 10 Maya Angelou quotes, 8 Brene Brown quotes, 5 Winston Churchill quotes, etc. all at once? I mean, every single one of their quotes are great. It makes you just want to get them tattooed onto your arm because you know that sh^%t is deep and you always want to remember it. If you’re like me, unless a famous quote is only one word, I will not remember it at all. So what do you do with these awesome pages of insight? Do you read these books from cover to cover in one sitting? Do you dog ear the pages that really speak to you? Or highlight your faves? Do you pass them along by posting on FB and Instagram hoping to inspire?
I have a steady practice of reading one page a day from a book called Think Happy. Be Happy. Plus, I read a page a day from the prayer book that I found when I was cleaning out our library. The one that was a gift from a co-worker/friend when my dad passed away and was too painful to read until recently. It’s entitled The Little Book of Prayers and I mentioned it in a previous post. After I read a page from each of these books, I put a yellow sticky note on the next page so that when I get another opportunity to practice this new habit of mine, I know which page to read next.
Now back to sharing the Father to Daughter book with my brother. I know I could easily buy him a copy of the book. Hello, we already talked about giving books as thoughtful pinches and we agree that is not a new concept. However, just like the hub, I know my brother would never pick up the book. And I can’t blame either of them. They just don’t have the time. But it doesn’t mean they love their daughters any less than someone who can read books all day long. We have all grown so accustomed to getting our information at lightening speed plus we just continue to get bombarded with as much information as we allow onto our devices. So for thoughtful pinches, I have been texting my brother and the hub quotes from the book. These guys can “digest” pieces of info better and easier this way. I think sharing a quote is a great way to show someone you are thinking of them. It may sound like I’ve been smoking a doobie but this thoughtful pinch can potentially effect lives. It’s unique in that the person who is texting the quote is being thoughtful enough to type the text and hopefully the person who receives the pinch is doing something with the quote (a.k.a. advice) - not necessarily physically acting upon the information - but rather just accepting it - allowing it to be given to them. They then have the power to pass the thoughtfulness onto the next person. And so on. The possibilities are endless.
In order to save a millisecond, I abbreviate Father to Daughter as F/D. Yesterday’s text to the hub and my brother went like this - F/D: Tell her from day one that she can accomplish anything.
Oh yeah, now that's what I’m talking about! It’s a pinch that will keep on giving.
Pinches,
Barb