Small change adds up in money and in life.
Welcome to guest blogger, Susannah Friis, who is sharing a lovely post she wrote several months ago for her own blog Personally Speaking. It reminds us how much small things lead to big things when it comes to strengthening our connection with those who matter most in our lives.
Lessons from the family piggy bank
We have a family piggy bank. It sits on the bench and any coinage that is left unattended by a hapless family member is soon deposited into the belly of said pig. As you can imagine, it gets fed quite often and it isn’t long before we are emptying it out to make room for more. The coins are then placed in a ziplock bag ready to be taken to the bank and converted into ‘proper money’ as my eight-year-old calls it.
Today we did a big count up and the sum of all the bags is nothing to be sneezed at. A nice tidy little sum at our disposal. Much discussion always then ensues regarding the disbursement of the stash. Holiday-treat money? Divvying it up between us? A night out for dinner and the movies? The possibilities are endless and all appealing.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly it all adds up. Fifty cents here, fifty cents there – feels like slow growing but before you know it all those fifty cents make up fifty dollars.
Small change adds up in money and in life
It made me think about our words and actions. Lots of good words deposited into a child turns into a healthy self-esteem. Consistent small good deeds turn into a lasting relationship.
The beauty is in the slow growing of it. If we just handed our kids a cheque, as opposed to them watching the coins grow and seeing the steady increase of bags full of silver, the excitement and anticipation wouldn’t be there. It would still mean something to get some money but it wouldn’t be quite so sweet.
Just like in life.
The impact of meaningful words said once is not as powerful as the smaller, consistent words of encouragement and love. We are much more profoundly affected by an ongoing positive deposit into our lives than a lump sum.
Children who receive a steady stream of love, shown daily in varying ways grow up to be well adjusted, balanced adults with a strong sense of self-awareness and confidence.
Telling our children that they are beautiful, sweet, funny and kind at random times throughout a day will mean so much more for their lives than a speech at their 21st birthday party full of things you have never said before.
A marriage full of regular ‘moments’ is far more likely to last the distance than if both parties only show their love on big occasions. Give me the small gestures of love, like a cup of tea in bed, flowers for no reason, a wink across the room, over a grand gesture of a surprise overseas trip (although, I am happy to accept that, if anyone is offering!).
What are you depositing in your piggy banks?
How are you depositing into your loved ones’ piggy banks? Are you looking to make a one-off lump sum payment, thinking that’s enough? Or are you committed to making smaller contributions regularly?
Connect with Susannah on Twitter. She shares her journey of writing her first novel at The Writerly Way.
This is when being a grandmother comes in really handy! 🙂
Can’t wait for that phase of my life!
I have had more time to think about this post … I believe that I made a lot of mistakes with my son. I guess we all think that. I didn’t read to him enough, I didn’t spend enough time playing with him, we watched too much t.v. … and he still turned out awesome. Go figure! Now I have grandsons – Wayne 6 y.o. and Shawn nearly 5 y.o. I have made a lot of changes, but I still continue a lot of the same good behaviors. Making sure they know when they have made a good decision, making sure they know when they have made a bad decision. Telling them I love them no matter what. Giving them the pep talk when they need it. Allowing them to make mistakes and learn “consequences.” And then enforcing consequences! Letting them talk when they need to, and LISTENING. If we can manage to shut up and listen (and turn away from the computer, or the cell phone, or the Ipad), we can learn a lot.
Couldn’t agree more, Karen. And it ties in nicely with my post-in-progress for my blog – What does quality time with our children really mean?
And, yes, good golly, we’ve all made plenty of mistakes with our childrearing! My dad always says he hopes he did enough right to override what he did wrong 🙂 I guess we all hope that, don’t we?
Karen, I’ll bet you were a fantastic mother, and you are obviously an incredible grandmother.
It does seem miraculous that our children survived — no, thrived from — our parenting, doesn’t it? Sometimes I think I’d like to be a fly on the wall and hear what my grown son and daughter remember about their childhood. But then I dismiss that idea quickly…ignorance is probably bliss! 🙂
Great post, Susannah! And wise words, indeed. Great to see you over here at Heartspoken.
Thanks Karen 🙂 And thank you for cyber-ly introducing me to Elizabeth! Great blog which it’s an honour to be a guest on 🙂
Yes, Karen: Susannah and I are BOTH grateful that you introduced us to each other. Finding kindred spirits in other parts of the world has been one of technology’s true gifts.
Such a lot of wisdom packed into the analogy of the often overlooked piggy bank. Loved this post.
Thanks Beth 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it. And I love, love, love your blog, by the way 🙂
Beth, it’s wonderful to see you here. Since you are such a beautiful purveyor of wisdom yourself, your compliment means a great deal. I love the way Susannah wove a powerful message into a simple concept. Those are the most memorable, aren’t they?
I agree, Elizabeth! To hear that from Beth meant a great deal 🙂