Have I got a story for you!  I was talking to one of my kids the other day and really trying to help him start moving towards one of his goals.  Funny thing is I got caught in the trap that he wasn’t hearing me!  You know where we went after that don’t you?  Yep, down into the hole of no return!  We started arguing and went no where.  My husband so nicely reminded me to just walk away.  I did. 

I did not follow my rule of stating your point in 20 words or less from a couple weeks ago.  I was caught in an old habit of drilling my point all the way to the 18th hole.  Teenagers just don’t like that.  In fact, they fight back when that happens. 

The best part about this story is that about 15 minutes later I had to bring him on an errand.  My car broke down en route.  We had to sit on the side of the road until we were rescued by my husband.  I laughed with him because we were stranded in a car together after we had an argument.  So, I said my point in 20 words or less and he listened. OMG!!  REALLY??   He said his point and I listened.  YES I listened!  We were good! 

For a second, I was really mad at myself.  How can I coach you to be better parents if I fell into a very old trap.  But then I thought, WOW what a great lesson for us all.  We are not perfect and our kids do not expect us to be either.  WE should not expect them to be perfect either.  These steps we take backwards can actually propel us much faster forward.  My son and I had a laugh about it and said what we really needed to say.  He knows that I am and have been working to be a better mom and he really appreciates it.  Especially when he sees his friends treated badly. 

MORAL OF THE STORY - you never know when you are going to get stuck in the car with your kids!  Be the kind of parent your kids don’t mind getting stuck with!