Welcome back to Good Life, a newsletter about navigating our modern culture and staying sane in the process. This weekend, we discuss how best to use the gifts God gives us in service of our children.
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I’m at that stage in my motherhood journey where I’m constantly reassessing the best way to talk to my high school daughter so she keeps listening to my advice.
I have this uncanny ability to read people. I truly think it’s a gift that God gave me. I’m not sure what you would call it. Intuition maybe? Regardless, I can spot a bad friend, boyfriend, coworker, whatever long before anyone else catches on. This can leave me feeling a bit lonely until eventually the people I’ve warned see it for themselves.
When I was in high school, my sisters used to get so mad at me because I would tell them their boyfriends were no good for them. Or I’d warn them not to trust that friend they had been spending all their time with. They’d argue with me, telling me they didn’t care because I didn’t like anyone they dated. Then, eventually, the boyfriend or friend would show their true selves, and if I were lucky, I’d get a thank-you, but most of the time I’d happily settle for them not being in their lives anymore.
I don’t blame them really. I wasn’t very tactful in how I approached the subject. Back then, I was more of a sledgehammer than anything else. They probably felt like I was hurting them. I’ve gotten better at delivering the news as I’ve aged. My husband finds it useful.
The nature of his job means he’s taking a lot of phone calls and meetings at home or in the car. I get to hear conversations I wouldn’t normally hear if he worked a traditional 9-5. When he gets off, I often gently mention that he should be wary of one thing or another, and because we’ve built up trust over the last 15 years, he takes my counsel and uses it to his advantage.
I say all of this to give you a little background information before I really get into the nitty-gritty of what’s been happening around here.
