Grandpa”s Treasure

Father’s Day seems an appropriate time to post a photo of the junior Grandpa sorting through the treasure of the senior Grandpa , who we like to imagine is looking down fondly from a better place . 

There are lots of interesting tools and gadgets that the senior Grandpa collected as he carried out  many practical tasks , mending, fixing constructing his way through a lifetime of living carefully . The next two generations have followed in his foot steps as they too, mend, fix, construct . 

My own dad offered a different kind of treasure , not in anyway handy and his tool box consisted of a screwdriver and hammer which was a comment on his lack of confidence in anything requiring  
nimble  fingers and DIY skills . Instead he was practical in terms of helping people , our family home was the Shelter emergency number for  many years , the phone could ring at anytime out of office hours and my dad would leap , often out of bed in the early hours , and take the call and then persuade, argue whatever it took with the emergency agencies who had duties of care until the homeless person , often very vulnerable , often with children would be found somewhere to stay overnight until the offices opened the following morning . He was tenacious and fearless , threatening to report people to the Secretary of State or the newspapers for failing to care for the many homeless people that would otherwise have been out on the streets . 


What the dads in my little tale have in common is that each one of them has used their gifts with generosity of spirit .

 There has been plenty of time for reflection during this period of lockdown and I have been thinking about how important it is to treat each other with generosity. 

The Blip community is an amazingly generous place  to wander through and I would like to say thank you to anyone who has read this far for all the  encouraging words , stars,  hearts you have sent my way .