Hugs

“You are a big girl. Just follow the other kids up to the door, and your teacher will be waiting on you,” the young mother said.

It was the third week of three-year-old preschool. With a baby in a car seat, the young mother encouraged her daughter to walk the short distance from the car to the preschool door alone. There were no streets to cross, and Mom stood by the car door.

Hesitantly, the child adjusted her backpack and started toward the school house door. Mom thought “Yes! Mission accomplished—the beginning of independence.”

But then, Mom heard a tiny plea, “Mommy, I need a huggie.”

I, too, was anxious for my young children’s independence. Now, though, with my grandchildren ranging in age from 7 months to 18 years, I know children become independent. So, slow down young mothers. Give your little ones hugs as they step into their first few months of learning. And yes, mamas and grandmas need hugs from little arms, too.

 

To the Moon and Back…

This past summer I spent a hot, Kansas weekend traveling to the moon and back via television.

On July 20, 1969, recently graduated from college and not yet in the work force, I watched from my parents’ living room as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

That night I wondered if I might one day walk on the moon. It seemed possible America’s space program might provide shuttle service to the moon during my lifetime?

Today, I cannot call Uber to fly me to the moon, but I can call my family members on a smart phone from my car—not just from the phone on my kitchen wall. Today’s weather forecasts and medical diagnosis are more accurate, and my ability to travel to a friend’s house in an unfamiliar city is greatly improved because of technology. Would these advancements have been possible without the space program?

Well, yes, I still occasionally make a wrong turn, and I’m not sure I have the courage to fly to the moon, but I’m glad others did and will again. My 2019 trip to the moon was as exciting as the 1969 trip. And, the television picture was much, much sharper.