Wednesday, February 24, 2010

cool kids

dear emily,

my children heard me say, more times than they wanted,
"steer clear from the cool kids at school.  they're the ones
who pressure you into changing your image, your morals,
and your integrity.

besides, they get more than their fair share of attention and
don't really need yours.   the uncool kids, on the other hand,
are desperate for a little kindness in the form of a smile,
encouraging word, or lunch partner.

these kids will accept you for yourself, not pressuring you
to change.  they're way more fun, because they're usually
more intelligent and can think outside the 'cool' box."

my self preserving skills were much too sharp to hang with
the cool kids when i was in high school.  they were very
scary to my little nerdy self.  my only transgression was to
date, and eventually marry, the nicest cool guy in school.

a few years ago, an elderly woman stopped hans to ask him
if he was the 'hans' in her daughter's history class, the one
who told her every day that her homemade dresses were
very pretty.

yep, he's the one!  my mom made a lot of my dresses, too.

love,
lea

"the King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
for the least of these...you did for Me.' "     matthew 25:40

11 comments:

Single and Sane said...

You may not have been interested in being one of the cool kids, but you're a very cool adult!

Karen said...

I was not one of the cool kids, either. My mother made all my clothes, and I married someone very much like your Hans. Hmmm.....we're pretty similar, huh?!

myletterstoemily said...

don't know many other people whose mothers made their
clothes! i can't sew a stitch! :)

Julie@beingRUBY said...

Hi there
Love this story.. and still applies today.. and to blogging also I think! in many many ways!! Well I think I hung out with a mixture of kids... which made life a little easier... was more of a nerd/sporty type... [strange combination hahaha]... My mum made a lot of my clothes too.. but here in Australia... almost every school requires kids to wear a school uniform.. public and private alike.. which .. although that in itself can be a burden on parents financially.. perhaps less so that kids needing to 'keep up' with other kids... and feel out of place or style

Thanks for popping over again.. on that trip to Italy I spent the first 2 weeks at language school in Florence... which helped!! Isn't Meredith blog a delight!!! She is such a wonderful person.. xx Julie

vicki archer said...

Sound advice and so true in many walks of life...xv

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

I think that a truly "cool" kid would be the one that is kind, thoughtful, considerate, encourging to all those around them... And that those that some may label as "cool", but are the opposite to those characteristics, are definitely the ones to stay clear of!

I thank the Lord that often it was our kids in middle and high school that were the ones that were the positive influence. And even in college, they were the ones that were the leaders and encouragers...not swayed into destructive activities such as drugs, but were able to have good, clean fun in what they did. Our daughters & son were very well rounded in athletics & academics, active in school government, church and community, cancer awareness groups, musicals...

Thank you for your great posts full of wonderful advice.

Blessings & Aloha!
I have something for you...and even if you are an award free blogger or have had this one given to you already...just know that I was thinking of ya! Please come and take a peek at what it is...

Cinnamon said...

What a sweet post~ Cinnamon

Anonymous said...

Great post - full of wisdom!
Hugs,
Zuzu

Country Girl said...

Nice post. Nice hans!

RA said...

Peer pressure can be really cruel these days. I miss the days when everything seemed much more simple, especially for children. Wonderful post! Have a great week :)

Jodie | Velour said...

Great advice that is!