A Cool Way to Have a Hard Conversation!
If you read my posts you may have recognized that I’ve been carrying some stress, ok maybe more than just a little. After reading a recent blog, my youngest asked if I was ok because she’d never heard me cuss so much. Her question made me chuckle. It’s funny how they think it’s ok for them to cuss but when we use excess expression, they become concerned. It’s good they are paying attention. There was a time when they didn’t seem to care enough to notice.
Recently an old friend shared a new concept on handling the stress of raising teenagers. This situation was a tough one and one we have all experienced. The beloved yet non compliant child chose not to complete a required task and now was the time to hand down the consequence of which the child was well aware of ahead of time. This consequence would not only be painful to the child but to the parents as well just in a different kind of way. So this loving yet frustrated father turned a walk-in cooler (he happened to have one at his place of employment) into a temporary private place in which the news of punishment would be delivered. As the father explained that the consequences would remain the ones promised, the temperature of the room was a nice buffer to the conversation and the heat of the moment. No physical force was enforced or necessary allowing the consequence to deliver the pain of the poor choice.
When I saw my friend for the first time that day, he had just emerged from the frigid room after the verdict had been delivered. My friend was red in the face and seemed to be carrying a little stress but hey he runs a stressful business and at times that kitchen gets really toasty.
Later when he did come out to greet us at our table he was transparent about the challenges of raising teenagers and it felt like running a business was the least of his worries at the moment.
At our table I thought to myself he’s a genius! Using a refrigerated space as a soundproof office and heat reducer could be a game changer!
No abuse of calorie intake, no overspending with credit card bills to address later, no excessive alcohol to be hungover with, no casinos trips filled with regret!
Then this question arose… I wonder who else knows of some outside the box tricks to survival of the teenage years? Although that season is behind me I love many moms who are still treading water in the time of learning how to let go of responsibility and empower the kids to make wise decisions, all the while keeping their hearts from being crushed in the transition.
We need to stick together. Our kids are smart, strong, resilient and have so much access to stuff we can’t even begin to comprehend. Another reason we must survive, as this grandfather and father of 5 reported, is because the reward of parenting doesn’t quite arrive until we are blessed with the grandkids!
Our sweet Savvy Jo is 4 weeks old… I know exactly what he means!
If you have a funny story to share, tell others. It could encourage us all in the struggle. Laughter helps us find strength and playing is good for the soul!
Stay Blessed!