COLLEEN J. PALLAMARY - ELDER THOUGHTS HEROES

Colleen J. Pallamary is an author, speaker, copy editor, freelance writer, and crafter. She has published three books, one fiction and two non-fiction works which are all available on Amazon. Her writing has been prominently featured in Ocala The Good Life Magazine and many other local publications. She frequently lectures on the topic of scam prevention and is an AHA Certified BLS/CPR Instructor. For more information please visit http://www.colleenpallamary.com. 

Her short story Heroes was written for and about her two young grandsons who she is helping to raise. She believes that speaking from the heart is the best way to nurture and teach loved ones as they grow into adulthood.

Elder Thoughts
EROES

I grew up in an Ozzie and Harriet World
Where Father Knows Best – except mine wasn’t there
And Mom struggled to put food on the table and certainly didn’t wear shiny high-heeled shoes to vacuum and clean.
As the oldest of four I had nowhere to turn for advice and counsel
I looked instead to TV for some kind of male role model and imagined what it would be like to have a paternal guiding force in my life.

Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor
And Zorro slashed the air with his gleaming sword helping hungry peasants survive during difficult times.
They became my heroes every week – like clockwork I knew I could depend on them to be there.
Any yet I always wondered what that would feel like to have someone in my corner willing to listen and help during turbulent times.

Eventually a new kind of hero emerged on my TV screen. Barnabus Collins hid in Dark Shadows and Angelique wove her magical spells as an empowered witch fighting for her rightful place amongst the supernatural forces rampant in the Collinswood mansion.

I watched Mary Tyler Moore toss her hat in the air letting young girls know they could really make it on their own while Marlo Thomas embraced That Girl telling young women that they, too, had value as members of a changing society. Together these trailblazing women broke the chains of preconceived notions inspiring others to acknowledge their own self-worth. They became my new TV heroines.

I’ve turned to TV many times since then, still pondering the same questions from so long ago
And realize that the role models I searched for don’t exist, at least not in my world
And my definition of family, as I knew it, is not the same.
But fate and life have a strange way of intertwining and changing perspectives.

I’ve come to realize that my young grandsons look at me as their role model and pay no attention to the garbled voices on the HD screen blaring in front of them. Instead we sit and talk about the realities of everyday living and I continually emphasize their value as human beings especially during difficult times.

While I try to instill certain values and examples in their lives
I am honored and blessed to help them grow and as time goes on, they can be role models for each other as their world changes and they need to adapt.
They will know how to value and appreciate each other as family and brothers in every sense of the word
And I will smile and know my work is done when they become the real-life heroes in my life and they set examples for others to follow when its their time to lead.


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