I had a Grandpa moment

As I sit in my office today I caught myself doing something that Grandpa used to do for myself and Doug. I just had one of those "ah ha! I get it" moments.

Occasionally, I used to get a small hand written note in the mail with a news paper clipping or a photo copy of some article that Grandpa thought was very important for me (or Doug) to read. It usually related to finances or something important happening in the stock market. I would always read it and think to myself, I am 14.... Why does Grandpa send me this kind of stuff? I always loved it because I knew he was thinking of me and that was more important to me than the article, but now I get it.

He sent those things because they were (and are) important things to know. At the time, I didn't care about finances or stocks but as I grow up I see how important it is to understand the world of accounting and especially savings. I remember small comments Grandpa used to make about saving your money and he would recommend making any big purchase with a lump sum. He would say, don't lease it if you don't have to. It is best to save your money and avoid paying the interest. Side note* there is research showing that people who buy cars in full are happier with their purchase than those who lease*

So, I think Grandpa was a very wise, kind and subtle teacher. He was dropping little crumbs along the trail of life for us to pick up.

Now that I am a teacher, I find myself dropping little crumbs for my student and friends to pick up. I know that they might not understand why I am sharing 'things' with them but my hope is that someday, one of them will go, "ahh ha, I get it". Until then, Thank you Grandpa. I am back to crumb dropping for the day :)