Christina Millington
Family values.
They tend to stick with you through the years even when they’ve seemed to have bit the dust ages ago.
I have fond memories of my childhood, for it wasn’t limited by too many rules, rather encouragement to get into a little trouble and learn life lessons the hard way.
To some that may sound odd, for parents generally set guidelines for their children to follow without question or room to bend them.
My parents thought that if we went through the adversities of learning life lessons through our own mistakes rather then in their shadow, we would take more from them.
Fast-forward to today; being a 27-year-old professional, it’s those very lessons that I recall when having to deal with adult responsibilities and making judgment calls with the unfamiliar.
My Nana Millington, whom has a heart of gold, has been an amazing role model when it comes to family values, respecting others and most importantly, staying true to ones self.
However, visits to the Millington household often consisted of routine.
My siblings and I would kick off our shoes and toss our jackets aside to then march into the kitchen where my granddad would often be sitting at the head of the table doing a crossword or lost in the daily print.
Manners were important at this point for my granddad wouldn’t tolerate our silly hearts when it came to being respectful.
“Hello, Granddad,” not “hi Granddad, hi or hello.” Full sentences were required.
It’s those memories that I look back on as humbling. I loved the rigors of it, as well as the likelihood that I had my manners backwards the majority of the time - which resulted in time outs at the top of the stairs.
As a child, family gatherings were quite frequent.
My siblings and cousins were often required to retreat to the basement, to allow our parents to have time to mingle without the worry of chasing after us.
We were often lured to activities that would produce the most sound; and that activity in the Millington household was the grand piano.
Pianist we were most definitely not, therefore, ever so often we would hear a holler from the upstairs living room as a kind reminder to keep our fingers off the pearly keys.
Leaving the nest, finding your way in life is an encouraged journey that many look forward to – leaving your parents behind, not too far behind, with hope to pave the way as a new chapter unfolds.
Here’s to family values and making them your own, with the slightest tweak and with the silliest of hearts.