WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT THAT WAY
Sometimes the naive question, “Why do we do this?” may be the necessary catalyst for change in routines that have been carried out in the same way for years. To illustrate: As a young girl watched her mother prepare her ham for baking, she noticed her mother cut off the ends of the ham before placing it in the pan. When she asked, “Why?” the mother could only say, “That’s the way your grandmother always did it.” When the grandmother was questioned, she responded, “That’s the way my mother always did it.” Visiting Great-grandmother, the girl asked her the same question — to which the old woman replied, “All I had was a small pan, so I had to cut off the ends to make it fit.” Often we need a child’s “Why?” to remind us of the purpose of our roles, traditions, and structures.
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