Sometimes you overhear

things that leave you wondering. I was working nearby as a little girl and her mum left an organised party. There were happy farewells. The girl clutched a gift bag. Then, I heard her ask: “Mum, was that deliberate?” Mum asked what she meant. The girl explained: “Well... everyone was so nice”. Then they were gone.

So, I don’t know what she meant. But, I do know that some of us set an example of, say, cynicism, or negativity, that can pervade family life to such an extent that people behaving otherwise can appear to our children as artificial, put on, deliberate rather than natural.

The examples we set can sometimes last for generations.

But, just as negative behaviours can come to be seen as the only way, so can positive behaviours.

If only we are “deliberate” in choosing them.