Adoration

I thought it was so refreshing to read a book where a child loves and absolutely adores his father. I have read so many lately of broken and dysfunctional relationships between parent and offspring that this was a breath of fresh air! I think it says so much about their relationship and his father as a parent when Ralph said, "I always loved him more after he chastised me." How many children honestly can say that?

Ralph's father reminded me so much of my Grandpa Brown (Amanda, my cousin, thought the exact same thing) in that he didn't say much, but when he did speak, you payed attention, and it was always just the right thing to say at that moment. It made me long for the good old days where hard work, and ingenuity and common sense were highly valued. It made me miss my Grandpa and helped me to see him for the true gem that he was. He never called attention to himself, so sometimes it's easy to overlook some of the wonderful things he did. But just like Ralph's dad, he just always went about attending to what needed to be attended to with a quiet dignity and leading by example.

I loved "watching" the ranch come together piece by piece as I read and I especially loved his father's teaching moments throughout the book. So my question is to you, what was your favorite teaching moment he had with his father? I think mine was when his father taught him that it didn't matter what a persons skin color was, but that the only thing to be worried about with other men is whether they were honest or dishonest. It seems so scarce to see such honesty in this day.

Is It Always Black or White?

First of all, I have to say I loved this months book! I think it totally captured the typical American boy. I can see my brother, my husband, and my own two little boys thinking and doing all of the things that Ralph did. This book made me laugh and it made me cry. I love a book that can do that.

Now for a question. My husband and I have the discussion about boys fighting all the time. I've always said that I think fighting is bad no matter what, and that I would always punish our kids for fighting. My husband takes the stance that if it is in self defense, or defense of another, he'd take them out for ice cream afterwards. Reading this book made me wonder if maybe I'm wrong. I felt awful for Ralph and wondered if I was his mother, if I would have been able to hold to the original warning of punishment. I guess that's why its good that kids have a mom and a dad to balance them out. What do you think?

A thought

I just loved this paragraph from the book, and I wanted to know everyone's thoughts on this:

"All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair." (pg. 104)

I loved this metaphor and it made me see things a little differently-from my parents perspective, and from my perspective as a parent. Will I smudge or crack? Will my kids forgive me for my inadequacies? What are your thoughts?