Lifetime Learning Means Never Stop Growing…

Dear Reader:

As a teacher for over three decades in the classroom… I was always ” preaching ” to my eighth graders the importance of becoming ” lifetime learners.” I am pretty sure, at thirteen, that message fell mainly on deaf ears.

But now that I have more lifetime behind me than what lies ahead… I am having to remind myself daily of the importance of living my own advice.

As today’s title mantra points out… our growth zone is outside our comfort zone … more so for the lucky ” growing older” population. And I do know just how miraculous my aging really is and how appreciative I should be.

Each day should be filled with a mixture of gratitude and justifiable ” comeuppance ” if I don’t continue to live life to the fullest… intimidating challenges and all!

Downtown Charleston is filled with quaint charming facades… unlike so many modern cities.

By coincidence… I came across a cute story that hit home with me since I have spent a lot of time with my hometown banker friends lately refinancing my home. But unlike the woman in the story… all my local banking friends were wonderful… it was computers in another location that kept messing up the information on their end.

An elderly lady wanted to withdraw ten dollars from her checking account. The teller told her they no longer accepted withdrawals less than a hundred dollars and instead use the ATM machine.

The teller handed the customer her bank card back… and the elderly woman shook her head and asked politely again why she couldn’t get a simple ten dollar bill from the teller.

” These are the bank rules and there is a line of other customers waiting behind you” the teller replied more curtly.

” Then help me withdraw all my money out of my account” replied the woman.

When the teller pulled the customer’s account… to her astonishment there was $ 300,000 in it! Respectfully the teller leaned down and whispered ” You have more money in your account than our bank can cover immediately… could you please make an appointment to return back tomorrow?”

The elderly customer asked how much she could withdraw immediately. The teller responded $3000. The woman asked for that amount and placed ten dollars from it in her purse. She then returned the remaining $ 2,990 to the teller for deposit into her account.

Moral of the story… Older citizens have a lifetime of knowledge and aren’t called ” lifetime learners” for nothing! There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” 😂

**The only thing that I would change on this piece of prose is one line…. Not ” Grace over Grit” BUT GRACE and GRIT!**

So until tomorrow…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

I was so tired Tuesday after happily getting my carload of precious family to Charleston and back unscathed… that around 7:00 I fell asleep and woke up up around 8:30… it was that magical twilight time as the last rays of the setting sun provided just enough darkness for the solar lights to come on… but just enough light for the flash on my mobile phone camera… not to come on-result- pictures of beauty and serenity.

**The moon is still my favorite nocturnal light**

**It was getting pretty dark when I took this flash-less last photo-and the result was an image that resembles a beautiful canvas painting.**

Yesterday… surprise! Only the second hibiscus of the season appeared by that same fence but oh what a magnificent bloom in this hot sun!

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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