The Giving Tree
By E (L’s husband)
Have you read this book The Giving Tree? It is a wonderful story about a tree giving and helping a boy who grows into a man, with out limitations. It’s about giving all you have to the people you love until you have nothing left to give. But I have a slightly different thought about it.
Now take a step back and look at the big picture, where the tree is the parent. The tree has worked its whole life to grow and to become strong and healthy, its gone through hard times and good times all to become a parent. Now the tree has a child and gives and gives all it has till everything is gone. Never saying “no” to the boy, never saying “why don’t you try to solve your problem by your self first”. Rather, “here take all I have till I have nothing, you need it more than I do”.
Maybe I shouldn’t feel this way about a children’s book but I have seen it happen too many times. Just watch the news. Spoiled kids everywhere just taking taking taking and never growing up or having to work for anything. Forget it if the kid runs into hard times. They will be so unprepared to deal with any problem, they will just run home to mom and dad to fix it. Maybe I don’t know what I am talking about or maybe I shouldn’t talk like this not being a parent yet, but there it is.
There is a line someone said to me or I read it or I watched it on TV or I dreamed it. “You need to be a parent not a friend to your kids. Friends they can get at school”
As you may have guessed, I do not want The Giving Tree in Magpie’s library. I want to do everything in my power to not fall in the very easy trap of being Magpie’s friend, my job is to be her Dad. L wanted me to turn this into one of our “wishes for Magpie” but I’m too angry about the book to turn it into a wish, I’ll come up with one later.
Sorry I am not as clever a writer as L :)
10 comments:
I agree! Love that you even wrote a post!
loved it
I am so with you on that one E! Also, glad you joined us here in blogland; it's good to hear from you.
I love that book. I always cry when I read it.
I've always loved that story too. I've never looked at it in that light before. Hmmmm.
We had that book when we were growing up and my mother hated it! She always said that the boy just kept taking and taking. I have to say I agree. I think our copy ended up in a yard sale.
thanks for posting,
Maryellen
I think you did a great job with your post. I think that if you give and give to your children and never allow them to struggle to try and reach a goal, then you are also depriving them of the self confidence that goes along with working through a difficult situation. Thanks for posting, E!
Nice post..ALways love visiting here
I agree as well. Selfishness in children/teenagers today is astounding and disconcerting.
I refused to read this book to my stepdaughter C because I feel the exact same way as you, E.
Good post!
Right on!!!
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