Inter-generational Impact

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“I hold that a strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations.” – Beatrix Potter

I’ve mentioned these details before but every once in a while I’m reminded of how remarkable it is that:
– In 2014, I made all the final arrangements to get pregnant via IVF on November 6th and thought, “Wow, life is about to change.” And then on November 7th, my dad died in a bike accident and I thought, “No, not like that!”
– Ten months later, I finished the line edits on the book I wrote about my dad at 8pm and seven hours later at 3am, I went into labor with Miss O

I’ve always known their stories are inextricably tied. But it is fascinating to see Miss O’s understanding of that evolve in ways that I can’t predict. How her perception of the grandfather she next met grows is really cool to see. It’s like a sneak peek into the inter-generational impact from the Beatrix Potter quote for this post.

This coming Sunday, March 9th would be my dad’s 90th birthday if he were alive. Vicki Atkinson and I sat down with my nine-year-old daughter, Miss O in Episode 106: The Miss Factor with Miss O. to talk about him.

Miss O was given a fourth grade class assignment to write about a perspective change. When she came home with this short essay about my dad, I was stunned.

She reads the essay to us and tells us what inspired her. Clearly I have a personal interest in this but at a bigger level, it’s fascinating to see what kids take away from family stories.

Vicki asks about how Miss O finds her voice and is so good at teasing out why it’s so meaningful to hear it from her perspective.

When we dig in to what Miss O knows about her grandfather who she never met, it’s both interesting and endearing to see the impression she’s gleaned of my dad. It’s also really funny to see the many ways they are alike.

Miss O talks about what she is doing next. Namely, making a slime channel on YouTube kids. As Miss O says, she is passionate about slime and she wants to share her creations. Fortunately, for all us we have boundaries – the slime has to stay in the rec room and she’s only showing her hands.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we talk about family stories!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 106: The Miss Factor with Miss O

Episode 106 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father, Finding My Father’s Faith that I wrote in the months after he died and before Miss O was born.

(featured photo is my dad and me at age 2)

53 thoughts on “Inter-generational Impact”

  1. I love this pod, miss o is so well spoken and confident and she gets that from both generations before her – great idea for the slime channel! she understands the market.

    Liked by 4 people

  2. Miss O is already finding a way to manage loss, through a fine man she never met. The wise child of a wise mom and her mom’s equally wise friend, who serve as models to handling that rite of passage. Thanks to all three.

    Liked by 4 people

  3. Miss O is a spark-plug! So full of energy and zest! I love how your family is keeping Bumpa’s memory alive with the kids. So awesome!

    My dad died when my daughter was 10 months old, so she never knew him, but I told her stories about him which she passed onto her 3 kids.

    I think it’s important to pass along these stories, it not only helps the kids, but the whole family. The web of interconnectivity becomes powerful and very grounding when people know where certain traits come from, when the family lore is passed on.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. It helps the whole family — yes! Thank you for saying that and sharing how you all have done it. You’re right – Miss O is a spark plug! 🙂 Thanks, Tamara! ❤ ❤ ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Wow, Miss O has so much poise and confidence for her age. Wynne, she is going to do big things in the future. 😊 I liked her essay. It was honest and heartfelt and I love how she sees him now in the back of the church; that filled my heart. Thanks for sharing her with us!!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. You’re so welcome! Yes, it was a 7-day trip, and loads of fun and interesting things to do. I may just send one or two photos to you and Vicki (I decided I didn’t want to do a post about it).

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Beautiful that she got influenced even though she never met him. I sometimes feel that you can meet older people in a timeless mood. Where you can connect over the generations.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. The serendipity of occurrences gave me chills. Oh I love this and Miss O! She is so adorable and comfortable on camera. She has the same zing and heart of her mom! She has a great voice and what a heartfelt story of her bubba! 💕

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I hope my comments come across as encouragement. When my kids were younger, one of the things that always seemed to help us . . . was having friends who had been through some of the same challenging fires tell us that the end of the day “it was all going to all be okay.” One couple in particular in the middle of Hell breaking loose would always remind us that as long as we loved our kids and let them know they could always come to us, things were going to be fine. It helps then when you have great kids like yours too Wynne!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. “as long as we loved our kids and let them know they could always come to us, things were going to be fine.” Oh, that’s so good, Brian!

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  17. …it’s fascinating to see what kids take away from family stories.

    No doubt that is true. I wonder how my parents would view the lessons I gleaned from their family stories. Sometimes current context means those stories are no longer charming.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Oh this sounds so special, Wynne. Happy 90th to your dad. I love how you continue to honour his memory alive for your family.

    I look forward to hearing this episode and Miss O’s essay. It sounds like a wonderful treat for your listeners!

    Liked by 1 person

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