perspective perspective
Generosity The cycles of life learning, being and doing
Rolling with the generations and the pandemic
IA
me inFinnegan a parking ’d likeyoung you toman joinapproached me in welcoming lot yesterday. Fletcher Titterington to our world. He family and Ithe arefirst staying was born “My on June 12. He’s of hisover there and if we could get five dollars could generation for both sides of the family, we so the get a pizza. If we could get ten we could first grandchild and great grandchild. Plus, get he twoaunts and that cover and us.”great-aunts has and would great-uncles I had idea whether was around. Heno will be well lovedhis andstory that’s thetrue. most He looked as though he was living rough, important, some might say the only important, though—gaunt, sunken fun cheeks, eyes. thing. And it’s especially to seedespairing how smitten Without hesitation, I pulled out my wallet his parents, Alli and Andy, are with the little guy. and And handed him that ten bucks. I don’t know justthinks why I that did it. Hegrandkid wasn’t I know every new grandparent their threatening. Heever, wasn’t justcutest seemed really need a is the cutest kid butover littleimploring. Fin reallyHe is the kidto ever, especially boost right then and interacting with him right there a couple of feet now that he’s not so yellow. You’ll get an opportunity to judge for yourself away, I just felt it was a moment. when he makes the cover in a few months. It’s not that I’mthe oncover a mission to give away all of ouranniversary money. I walk Putting Fin on is actually part of our 25th year and drive by plenty of people who are asking for a little push. I’m celebration where we’re putting kids of former cover kids on theAnd cover. notyou driven to help a sense a feeling of being As might have others guessedbyAndy wasofa guilt coveror kideven more than once, and lucky enough to have it and these others don’t and so therefore it’s my although Alli was never on the cover, her younger sister Akadia was. social to do it. Nor do Iisget bigcover. sense Her of satisfaction. I have So,obligation this month, Hailey Brandt onaour mother, Ashley, a hard time pinpointing why I feel compelled to help out sometimes, was on our first cover 25 years ago. If you’re reading this and you were a whether a sidewalk a neighbor or stopping push a car, cover kid scooping at one time and nowfor have a kid or three of your to own, shoot me and other times not so much. an email at scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com. Every fall, a neighbor ours comes witha his Jumping gears a little, I of just wanted to by reflect littleaironcompressor life as we and blows out our sprinkler lines. He makes the rounds in ourI’m not transition out of a world dominated by COVID-19 precautions. corner ofyour the neighborhood ready for winter. He sure how world is turningand butgets ourseveryone is definitely picking up speed! doesn’t ask for anything. He just does it because he can. It is not a Friends and family members who we haven’t seen much or at all in more transactional offer in any way. than a year are popping back up in our lives. Sometimes it feels as though writes month in her Learn and Live column we’reTheresa runningBaer a B&B. It isthis almost exhausting, at times. about teaching children to be generous and to volunteer. She also At first it just seemed odd gathering with people and going outoffers to some ideas about where and how. The idea is to help children to be In stores and restaurants without a mask. I’m getting pretty used to that. aware of others’ understand they, themselves, fact, I had to lookneeds for a and masktothe other daythat when I went into the have Denver something to offer. International Airport to pick up my brother and his family. I thought that goal is for allthe of us, to not justmentality do generosity an was aThe good sign thatthem, I was really putting COVID-19 behindasme, activity that we have come to understand as something that we should although I do believe we still need to be cautious. do because lucky to have something and those other I am sowe’re glad for theenough gatherings, though, from the little impromptu people are struggling. Where we’re really headed with this is fora our moments with neighbors and their kids and puppies to grabbing children to see people who are just like they are, who just want beverage with an-almost-forgotten friend to the four-family raft to tripbethat happy just as they do and who don’t want to feel bad just as they don’t we have on the books for this month. wantAnd to. We want to get beyond the them and us feelings. We don’t to bring it all around, it’s nice that little Fin was born at the just tail dropofmoney in a can (at andleast walk by. in WeColorado) stop. We because talk andsoengage end the pandemic here many with people people who are like us. are so excited to just see him! In the end, we want to be generosity, not just do generosity, though Be well, the path to being generosity, it seems, lies through the path of doing Scott generosity. ‘Tis the season, Scott
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| RMPARENT | RMPARENT
OCTOBER 2019 • Volume 24, Issue 6 JULY 2021 • Volume 25, Issue 2
PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 PUBLISHER scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 EDITOR scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 EDITOR kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 CREATIVE DIRECTOR kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com Emily Zaynard CREATIVE DIRECTOR emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com Emily Zaynard ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 DISTRIBUTION MANAGER greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Susan Hartig ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com Susan Harting COVER PHOTO susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com Cheri Schonfeld, Courtesy of COVER- skysopendesign.com PHOTO Sky’s Open Design Cheri Schonfeld CONTRIBUTING WRITERS www.skysopendesign.com Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Katie Harris, CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lynn U. Nichols Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson Lynn U. Nichols, Scott Titterington Tim Van Schmid
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