It’s Elder Wisdom Day a.k.a. Thanksgiving

We have so much to learn from the older” generation.  We have so much to learn from our parents. And Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to sit down and have a conversation with your “elders” that are making the effort to travel across the nation, or from just around the corner, to join your family in the celebration of Thanksgiving, as well as Hanukkah, this year. They will check up on your children’s table manners, quietly watch the activity as you bussle about  preparing the feast for the hungry group of youngsters and oldsters.  They will impart bits of wisdom that simply comes from their collective years of experience and expertise. They may even criticize what you are doing, or how you could do it better, but don’t roll your eyes.  This is a  superb time to learn something from or about your grandpa or grandma or both! The truth is that members of the “older generation”are bursting with ideas, energy, a historical perspective, and cherished family memories….so pull up a chair, pay attention and listen up.  They aren’t dead yet!  

What to talk about? What questions don’t you have answers to? What stories do you want to hear? Ask them to tell you:

  • about what was most important to their generation growing up
  • about their love life
  • about their medical history
  • about their family, their parents, and genealogy
  • about their education
  • about their career path
  • about what they loved to do as a child
  • about their earliest childhood memory
  • about their mentors
  • about what they wished they had not done
  • about their biggest regret
  • about their biggest mistake
  • about what they would tell to their younger selves
  • about their adventures
  • about their closest friends
  • about what they will miss most when they are gone
  • about what they want for the rest of their life
  • About what they are thankful for

The Legacy Project posted an article titled “Let’s Make Thanksgiving Elder Wisdom Day” Wonderful!  The article says to get their advice, get some lessons for living, as well as these specific questions:

  • What are some of the most important lessons you feel you have learned over the course of your life?
  • Some people say that they have had difficult or stressful experiences but they have learned important lessons from them. Is that true for you? Can you give examples of what you learned?
  • As you look back over your life, do you see any “turning points”; that is, a key event or experience that changed over the course of your life or set you on a different track?
  • What’s the secret to a happy marriage?
  • What are some of the important choices or decisions you made that you have learned from?
  • What would you say you know now about living a happy and successful life that you didn’t know when you were twenty?
  • What would you say are the major values or principles that you live by?

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with and probe the “elders”! I hope my Dad, known fondly as “Boo”,  is ready for lots of conversation and a long day ahead! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Share some of the wisdom and advice you got with me please.

Subscribe to our Articles of Interest & Mailing List