My mum was the most inspirational woman and best storyteller I have ever known, she told me all about real heroes..
My lovely mum always told me to be my best self and she gave me lots of examples through stories of how to be a hero.
She always told me stories of people who did their very best to shape and change things so others had better lives. She told me about Rosa Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King. What heroes and heroines to litter my childhood….they made wonder woman look purely pants!
Mum was my biggest heroine though – she always was her best self…full of a generosity of spirit and an ability to go the extra mile even for a stranger. There is a lovely story in our family of mum bringing home a homeless man for tea because he had told her he was hungry. Granny obliged but didn’t let her out again for a while! Mum remained that innocent and that kind.
My Great Granny had been a similar woman and she lived in the country. On the side of her cottage fence in code the homeless travellers of the day alerted each other to the fact that tea and biscuits could be found here. She was unafraid to open her lovely cottage to anyone. What a great story.
My son is 6 . He knows about Rosa Parks now too, he knows why Barak Obama is important and who won the competition to be in charge of our country. He knows about Mother Theresa and his Great Great Grandma’s tea parties. He loves these stories and make me tell them again and again.
Life in it’s reality is full of inspirational real heroes and fabulous true stories. Who needs Ben 10 when you have a gutsy Grandad who lost an eye under a train and was back at work the next week? Family stories and real life heroes are stories children love. They shape lives.
Go on, tell your child a true story, give them real heroes – guaranteed they will love it!
Thank you mum for all you taught me, you were the best storyteller x
Aaah Happy Birthday to your mum too!
Happy Birthday to your mum!
Too many children grow up thinking that the only heros in life are characters like Superman and Power Rangers. Reading this post made me realise that I don’t talk to my son enough about real life heros, the ones that are just ‘real’ people! So tonights bedtime story will be about one of the many ordinary, but inspirational people who help to shape the world around us.
I tell my 3 yr old a story about when ‘I was little’ every night. She asks for more and more all the time.
Well I think THIS post is a lovely story! It’s so nice to be reminded that there are such kind people all around us and you don’t have to be famous to be really special,
I agree with everything you have said about your mum – she was wonderful in every way. You have spurred me on to tell my children stories about older generations. We talk about historical sotries but not enough about the real ‘family’ ones.
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Thanks Na
Beautiful post Becky. We tell family stories all the time and the children adore them x
Its great to share family stories, the children love hearing all about them!
My nan could tell amazing never-ending stories about her life that came back round in a great big loop. She was truly fascinating with the detail that she painted. Sadly she is no longer with us and there is no one to take her place as the family story teller. Maybe it’s time for me to step up to the mark!
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Oh it definately is. Since I lost my mum I’ve tried really hard to keep family stories alive
Oh this a lovely post, you are so right…children love true stories and family heroes! Thanks Becky. x
Ah that is sooo lovely!
Great post Becky!
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Thank you Susanna
Inspiring post, Becky. So true.
found your post via the MAD awards and have voted for you! Excellent post….let’s pass on these inspirational stories and get our kiddos dreaming….thank you for the reminder!
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Thank you x
She was absolutely right your mum, and what an inspiration. Great post, really has me thinking. And lovely to have exchanged an insight into our amazing mums xx
love this post as much second time round, hope Sunday was good to you 🙂 x
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Thank you Penny.
This is lovely. It makes me wish I had shown more curiosity with my own parents for their stories. My grandfather was a War Horse trainer, and I’ve only recently found that out! I need to ask my 81 year old Mum more things…
Wow. My son is dressing up for our town’s gala day (his school has a float in the procession, and the kids walk in fancy dress). The theme this year is heroes and villains. To him heroes are Spiderman and Luke Skywalker. But you’ve inspired me to tell him about some real-life ones too.
Well said, I hate the fact that peers have convinced each other that those in the news are the Heroes, the real heroes are ones who try and avoid the press, who just get on with it x