Greetings from Winfield City Schools,
Do you ever feel that need for affirmation, assurance, or some statement to help your emotional drive? Call it what you will, but the true term is love. We all have an innate desire to be appreciated in some way whether it is for a service, term of endearment, or accomplishment (just to name a few). I would like to share how this was brought to my attention many years ago while living in Fayette County.
My son brought home a dog one day when I was a coach at Fayette Middle School. He came up with the name Apollo (the hairy black fellow in the picture) for this not quite full blooded Labrador. Our entire family loved Apollo, and we discovered that he enjoyed that affirmation just like most people do. This became most evident when I would sit down in our yard with our next door neighbor’s dogs, Freddie and Davis. They were named for the PGA Tour Golfers, Fred Couples and Davis Love III. Freddie and Davis loved for me to scratch their heads and bellies. Apollo was not as thrilled about this arrangement as they were. He often would get flat on his belly, front paws stretched out straight, and slide across the grass on his belly under my arms to get in my lap so that Freddie or Davis were pushed out of my reach, and he became the recipient of the head and belly scratches.
Apollo taught me at a young age the value of affirmation. It is easy to get bogged down with work, entertainment and leisure, and all of the other obstacles that we face on a daily basis and forget the importance of affirmation (love) in the lives of the people that look at us the way Apollo, Freddie, and Davis looked at me. Apollo was not able to voice his need, but he sure figured out how to show that need. As a parent/caregiver, do you have someone that is seeking that affirmation? Are they giving you signals? Can you let go of some things to invest in that need? We all need to slow down a bit and realize what’s most important. I hope the lesson Apollo taught me has some way of helping you to be more attentive to your surroundings and especially to your most important assets, your family. God Bless