This week the topic is:
What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you or said to you? Why did this mean so much?
In my case it was a simple phone call from my eldest son Leon about 15 years’ ago.
Leon and I had often clashed, as we are both strong willed. I was determined that he would not get the better of me as he was growing up, and because I’m not one to take the easy option and give in, our disputes were often frequent. Added to the boiling cauldron was the fact that Leon was hyperactive as a child, thus causing Mum and Dad to lose much sleep and for Mum especially to wonder if she had given birth to an alien.
Leon’s teenage years were particularly trying. He was bored at school and refused to do any homework. His school work had a definite ‘laissez-faire’ tinge to it, and one teacher in particular always sent him out of the class at the beginning of the lesson ‘because sooner or later I’ll have to send you out anyway’. He was headstrong, and if there was any trouble in the village, you knew Leon would be involved in it. Sam and I wondered what would become of him, especially when there was a run-in with the police just before he started his apprenticeship aged 16, causing us to ground him for 3 months.
The grounding worked. Old friends disappeared, and he made new ones when he started work as an apprentice air-con engineer. I had found him the apprenticeship and had encouraged him to apply, after much hesitation on his part, as he preferred to sit about and play computer games. However, he loved the £57.60 each week and thought he was rich. He worked with men older than himself, and after the initial tasks of sawing bits of wood to build up his muscles and making endless cups of tea, he became interested in the job. He secured day release to college, and over the course of 4 years passed all the exams he needed to become qualified.
As soon as he qualified and was earning a good wage, he moved out aged 20 and went to live with his then fiancée. About a month or so after he had moved out I was cooking dinner one evening when Leon rang to thank me for everything I’d done for him, and he went on to say he would never have found such a good job without my input.
I was flabbergasted to say the least, and a few tears fell into the saucepan. We’d had many arguments over the years, and I’d wondered several times what was to become of him. Now he was thanking me!
He’s currently aged 36, is on the management ladder of a national company, and has a team of engineers under him who all look to him for guidance. I can proudly say that after many trials and tribulations, my boy is a productive member of society!
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AEM said:
That’s awesome and sweet. I’m so glad he found his thing and had people to help build him up to achieve.
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dgkaye said:
Just goes back to the old adage – Behind every successful man is a woman. 🙂 x
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Stevie Turner said:
Ha ha – very true!
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Darlene said:
So nice that he acknowledged your part in his success. School doesn’t work for everyone. My son struggled but once he went out to work, he did very well. You must be very pleased and it’s good you didn’t give up on him.
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Stevie Turner said:
He only improved when working with men older than himself. The apprenticeship was the making of him.
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aurorawatcherak said:
Reblogged this on aurorawatcherak.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for the re-blog!
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aurorawatcherak said:
It’s very good that you didn’t medicate the energy out of him the way so many Americans do with their children. We chose not to do that with our daughter, who teachers always thought was a lovely student except that she didn’t get much done. Jury’s still out whether she’ll be a broke musician her whole life or if she’ll decide to follow her brilliance, but I’m glad we let her be a free-spirit … not that we had a whole lot of choice.
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Stevie Turner said:
My son is another free spirit, who finally found his way in life. He’ s a born leader, and his job as a manager suits him very well.
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aurorawatcherak said:
That’s our daughter, but she’s taking the long way round to getting there. I’m praying for her though.
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Stevie Turner said:
She’ll get there in the end.
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franklparker said:
Such a heart warming and inspiring story, Stevie. Thanks for sharing.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for your comment, Frank.
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Miriam Hurdle said:
This is such a heart-warming story of true account, Stevie. I would tear up on such a phone call also. You did a good job instilling value in your son and he was thankful to what you’ve done. Congratulations to you for his achievement!
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Stevie Turner said:
Thank you!
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Miriam Hurdle said:
You’re welcome!!
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robertawrites235681907 said:
A very heart warming story, Stevie. I clash with my Gregory a lot too. He is very academic so that is not a worry but his PTSD and OCD make him difficult to live with.
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Stevie Turner said:
Leon’s teachers always called him ‘distracted and distracting’. Oh dear, his school career was abysmal, but he’s done very well since thank goodness.
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