What Quirky Things Do People Do or Say Where You Come From?
Remembering Dad on his birthday with a couple of stories he used to tell.
And one story that he could never bring himself to tell …
But we could …
A keen gardener, my dad used to tell the story of when he was out digging in the garden, a robin would land on his shovel and stay awhile. He would greet the robin with the time of day, and the robin would chirp a greeting back to him.
Come blackberry season, and my dad had a team of blackberry pickers from whom he’d buy blackberries and then sell them on. He paid by weight and would tell the story of how some pickers would weigh down their buckets with stones.
Every Sunday, our next-door neighbour Mrs Hayes would make bacon and cabbage for the family lunch. She would pop her head over the garden hedge, and my dad would pick her a fresh head of cabbage.
Except for one Sunday, when he wasn’t there, and so my mum picked the biggest head of cabbage she could find for Mrs Hayes. Then they proceeded to have a conversation about what a fine head of cabbage it was.
And it was indeed a fine head of cabbage. It was the fine head of cabbage that my dad was going to enter into some show or other …
Suffice it to say that Sunday lunch was a very sombre affair in the O’ Reilly household on that fateful Sunday.
My dad could never bring himself to tell that story …
But we could …
Words of Wisdom
I like to tell stories about my family. They make a great story to tell because they’re unique to me. And also because they’re important to me.
I also like to tell stories about quirky things people do and say from where I come from. Again, they make a great story to tell because they’re unique to me. And also because they make me reminisce.
What is Unique About Your Family That Makes a Great Story to Tell?
What Quirky Things Do People Do or Say Where You Come From?
Epilogue
I also like to tell stories about what I’m curious about …
But I’ll save those stories for another day …
Today’s stories are in memory of my dad.
Stories that are important to me.
And stories that make me reminisce.
Happy Birthday Dad xx
Founder of School of WorkLife, Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning. These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies. which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club.
That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers). It helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.