There’s No Place

 

My five year old grandson has been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz for several years now. Although, he had never actually seen the movie he had seen a collection of Pez candy dispensers in the shape of the Wizard of Oz characters.

He knew all their names, and I had filled him in on the basic plot of the story. At the time I wasn’t quite sure he was old enough to watch the movie. I wasn’t sure how he would handle the wicked witch and the flying monkeys.

Now the reason I brought this up is that today’s adage is “There’s no place like home” which of course is the famous line from the movie. Phrasemix defines this adage as “Your own home is the most comfortable place to be.” 

How often have you been on vacation and looked forward to getting to sleep in your own bed again? In fact, when we travel on a road trip we bring our own pillows for the hotel room. 

Even my twenty-two month grand baby says “Home?” when he is riding in the car. That is usually followed by “Lemonade?” At this tender age he has learned that home is where he wants to be. 

In today’s world people live in beautiful homes that they are rarely at. They are too busy going from one activity to the next to really get to enjoy their home.

Teach your children to slow down and appreciate what’s really important, a home surrounded by the people they love. 

Don’t Put the Cart

 

“Don’t put the cart before the horse,” according to Phrasemix means “Pay attention to what’s most important. Don’t let things which aren’t as important take up all your time and attention.”

I’ve found in life that there is a general order to most things, and if you follow that order things usually work out for the best. In today’s world pretty much anything goes. 

Now for some, this free-spirited lifestyle might be the best thing ever. However, for many putting the “cart before the horse” ends up with a more chaotic life. 

Teaching our children to think before they act, and to analyze if what they are doing is really the best route can be a game changer for the future. 

Investing in a wedding dress before you have a ring and a date, might end up being a waste of money. You may choose never to marry or the style of dress might not suit your tastes anymore. 

Also, not prioritizing the details may cause you to derail your plans. Learn to take care of the “first things first.”

The Grass is Always Greener

 

Phrasemix defines “The grass is always greener on the other side,” as “People tend to want whatever they don’t have.”

In addition they tend to think that if they only had those things then their life would be so much better. What ends up happening is they spend all their time thinking about what they don’t have instead of enjoying what they do have. 

I remember once watching one of our cows literally stick her head through the barbed wire fence to eat the grass on the other side of the fence. Meanwhile, she had thirty-eight acres of her own pasture to munch on. 

When comparing the grass on both sides of the fence they were virtually the same. Of course, she didn’t know that, but luckily we can learn to live our life with a little more gratitude for what we already have. 

Now in teaching this adage to children I would remind them that there is nothing wrong with aspiring for and working hard toward a desired goal. I think attitude along the way is what makes the difference. 

Every Cloud

 

Today’s old adage was inspired by last evening. As I stepped outside while my husband was mowing the yard, I looked up into the sky and saw a beautiful silver lining surrounding a dark cloud. 

I knew immediately that today “Every cloud has a silver lining,” would be the next adage in the series. 

According to Wordnik this adage means that “In every bad situation there is an element of good.”

Now sometimes you have to look for it, and you definitely have to be open to it to find the good. 

I saw this time and time again during one of the most stressful times of my life. As I maneuvered the circumstances of my father and step-mother’s placement into memory care and assisted living respectively, I was met by the kindness of family, friends and strangers at every turn. 

The silver lining of a challenging situation is what helped me to make it through to the other side. 

Sometimes we need to look back on a situation using hindsight to identify those silver linings, but in teaching our children this we can help them to look for the good in the bad. 

Learning resiliency during adversity is an important life skill, as disappointment in life is a given. 

I must admit I did get a kick out of viewing the beautiful sky last evening which completely took me by surprise. 

If It Ain’t Broke

 

Phrasemix describes “ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as “Don’t try to improve something that already works fairly well. You’ll probably end up causing new problems.”

I find this adage to be extremely helpful when my perfection gene starts to kick in. Learning when to stop with “perfectly fine” can be a challenge to those who think that things could always be “a little more perfect.” 

I had a student years ago who at the tender age of seven gave me some words of wisdom that have stuck with me over the years.

While complaining about how imperfect the Christmas ornaments were that I had made my students she consoled me with, “They’re good enough for kids.” What she meant was that kids don’t set the unachievable standard of perfection that many adults do.

She was content with a Christmas ornament in the shape of a bell made by her teacher with her name Sarah written in glitter. 

As you are working on a project and something seems to be going along just fine, don’t automatically think there is a better way, and try to fix something that isn’t broken. 

As children face frustration in their endeavors teaching them this adage will help them to determine when to continue and when to stop. Of course, you might want to point out that the word “ain’t” probably isn’t the best choice, and might need to be reserved for the old adage alone. LOL!

Haste Makes Waste

 “Haste makes waste,” basically means according to Dictionary.com “Rushing things leads to mistakes or poor results.”

Today I had an opportunity to use this adage with my five year old grandson. He was working on a Mother’s Day card which included gluing down some buttons. We talked about how we he needed to wait for the glue to dry before he wrote anything on the inside. 

I explained that if he rushed to finish then his card might end up getting ruined by the wet glue. I could tell he was a little impatient, but he did wait, and was quite pleased with how his card when he was finished. 

This may not come naturally to children, but it is a lesson that can be taught even at a young age. 

Those Who Live in Glass Houses

 I remember learning the adage, “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones,” as a child. I must admit I never quite fully understood it until I got older. 

Phrasemix explains it like this, “Don’t criticize other people if you’re not perfect yourself.” This reminds me of the parable that Jesus taught about removing the log from your own eye before judging others. 

I do know that over the years I have been quick to criticize as it seems I have an opinion on just about everything. Here’s the thing, though, you may offer your opinion, but that doesn’t mean it will automatically be well received. Those stones that come flying back are easier to endure in a house made of stone. 

Now I’m not saying that there aren’t times in this world when we need to stand up and speak out. Just temper that with how you are living your own life. It’s easy to be quick to judge, but without really knowing the whole story it might not be the best thing to do. 

Remember a glass house lends very little protection, and it’s fallout could be even more detrimental. 

As far as sharing this with our children perhaps teaching the adage itself might lend itself to older children, but the groundwork and concept can be taught from the beginning.