Morning Report

The greatly beloved father of a friend (and awesome writer) recently died.  I'd known of her dad since her parents' courting days & met him just before they married.  It was impossible to not immediately be swept away by his smile, by his unbridled zest for LIFE.  It might sound cliche, but it is oh so true - the man was a force of nature. 

What I keep thinking about is the morning call he shared with my friend.  Praise be, she's writes like an angel & shared a few details of those "Morning Reports" on her blog.  What priceless treasures she has in the memory of those phone calls.  

Small wonder the man was a direct affront to Father Time - he kept forever engaged with life, as witnessed by their daily touch base. How ideal if all my older friends shared a similar morning gab with a child or a young friend!

Mind you, I have numerous friends of a certain age who keep in daily contact with parents.  Are they just giving a wake-up call, touching base about the coming days activities, or are they taking the contact beyond the practical to sharing bits about their own life?  They might seem minor, inconsequential, but oh what a difference they can make to a life!  

I deeply appreciated my friend's description of their "Morning Report" phone calls because it's an aspect of parenting I never experienced.  My mother lived with us.  But I can vouch for the power of the friendly sharing of "what's happening" bits & pieces, because we did that throughout the day.  

My guess is that those early morning phone calls were a build off long-time father-daughter communication patterns.  They appreciated each other as human beings as well as doting parent & adoring child.  Sadly, I've known a lot of parents who have not fostered such a relationship - a friendship - with their children.  It's like friendship in marriage - when the wife in me wants to verbally lay-out my hubster, it's the friend who says, "Now, wait a minute..."  When children & parents are able to nurture friendship, the later years tend to be more rewarding, less heartbreaking.

"Morning Report" phone calls - another item for my growing list of Best Practices in Eldering.