We lost Aunt Reta Anderson today; her son Dan messaged me via Facebook. Let me tell you about Aunt Reta.
One story I remember is when her oldest son, George, wanted to go outside in a storm without a coat, She let him do it, but with a warning:
"You're going to fall down, get wet, and come down with a cold."
George went out anyway, without a coat. He fell down, got wet, and came home with a cold.
Today, this kind of thing is being called wise parenting -- let your kids encounter risks and learn the consequences. Too many modern parents try to limit risks, for understandable reasons, but that is not necessarily what our kids need to grow and learn.
I always loved going over to Aunt Reta's house because she would say, "Dave, have a cookie." She always had sweets for her nephews and nieces.
She was also quite a character. I think her dad was some sort of carnival man. She also was the last member of my parents' generation in our family to live this long.
Tonight, I am grieving for her two surviving sons, Dan and George, Jr. I was very lucky to have an aunt like her.
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