Читать книгу Becoming a Counselor - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 30

My dad grew up on a farm and worked hard every day of the week but Sunday. He was an even-tempered man who had a good sense of humor and liked to hunt and fish with friends. He had a dog as a boy whose name was Jack. My father’s family was Methodist and attended church each Sunday in the little town of Hallwood, Virginia.

When I was growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, my dad “farmed” the backyard. He was so efficient that he literally grew most of the vegetables that we ate during the winter. That was good because he did not make a lot of money and my mother did not work until I was in high school. At one time, my father grew 26 different kinds of vegetables and took care of a pear, an apple, and two peach trees. He and my mother canned fruits and vegetables at the end of each growing season and stored them in our basement. Although my brother and I did not hunt and only occasionally fished, we had a dog named Chum who was a mixed breed. Sometimes in the winter we would shoot our 22-caliber rifles at cans in the backyard, but mostly we played pickup games of seasonal sports when we were not doing chores or homework. We attended the Baptist church every Sunday and Wednesday night because my mother had grown up Baptist and my dad did not see a lot of difference between being a Baptist and being a Methodist.

My brother, sister, and I were urged to work hard. To do less than one’s best was considered sinful. It was OK, although disappointing, not to succeed. It was not OK to give less than 100% at everything. I am sure that the work ethic my parents instilled in me and the success I saw my father finally have because he worked hard have influenced the way I have approached life.