Why a "Word to the Wise"?

I grew up in a rather strict, but loving home. I have two brothers and one sister and am the youngest by 5, 6 and 7 years. I loved my childhood! We were all very involved in sports and activities and had a lot of fun. It was a very stable upbrining. We didn’t get into too much trouble, mostly because we were afraid of what we called the ‘unknown’, but when we did it was always the same routine…

My mother scolded us immediately and got it out of the way. My father, on the other hand, would wait. It could be days; it could be a week or two. When he was ready and we were unprepared, he would call whoever was in trouble into their room, close the door over, turn the desk chair around backwards and sit down. His legs would be flung over the sides of the chair and his arms would be folded across the top of the chair. He would just sit quietly for a minute gathering his thoughts. I, of course, was usually crying by this time.

My dad rarely ever raised his voice and never swore; he didn’t need to. He would simply ask what you did wrong and this was not the time to pretend you didn’t know what he was talking about. After you told him, he would ask you ‘why’ it was wrong. Again, we would answer him, usually getting it right because we knew the difference between right and wrong. Most people do by the way; don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise. He would say a few words about why what we did was wrong and then simply say “a word to the wise is sufficient” and leave the room.

What that phrase means, at least to my father and to our family, is that we know what we did wrong. We had a choice to make and we made the wrong one. That we will not need to have this conversation again, at least not on this topic, because if we didn’t know better before, we certainly do now. Basically, DON’T do it again OR ELSE. It was always the “or else,” or the fear of the unknown that we were so afraid of, so we would just never do “it” again.

So why use “Word to the Wise” as the name of my blog? Well, I figure most people are pretty smart and “wise” people, just like my dad thought we were. So, if I share an experience or my knowledge in a specific area, you will understand the reason I’m sharing it and the lesson that’s to be learned. Ultimately though, it is your choice what you do with the information. Perhaps sharing some of what I’ve learned about life and work will help some of you (at least some of the ‘traditional’ students) navigate through your future with lights on instead of blinders.

A word to the wise is sufficient. =)