Friday, November 14, 2008

Let's Be Sensitive

An old friend called me last night because she'd just seen my son on television. I laughed and said,

"Oh, has he been arrested?"

Once when I was younger and leading a large group somebody complimented my super achieving kids and I said, "Well, I'm just thankful none of them are currently in prison."

But I never did that again because it became clear to me in any large group it's probable that somebody's kid IS in prison.

While I was teasing about mine, all of us have feelings of sheer pride and stark terror regarding our children. Sometimes in the same day.

My old friend on the phone told me that, no, my son wasn't in trouble. He was telling us how to deal with our economic issues. Then she told me he was too young to be giving that advice. Then she ended up saying, "I see he has some gray in his hair!"

I guess we all need to be a little more sensitive, including me.

Besides, my kids may or may not be aware that, in our younger days, there were causes that their father and I would have been proud to go to jail for.

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