He had three things to tell us.
It was pretty late last night. We had attended a Rapids soccer game, and waited in the parking lot for all the cars to clear. Waited quite a while in fact. Waited so long, that Bryan and I got to being silly on our iPhones and Bryan almost tweeted something that crossed a boundary for me. Which lead to a discussion about boundaries online. Which lead to a heated discussion about boundaries online. Which lead to a heated discussion about a plethora other things. All while we inched our way out of the stadium in gridlock traffic.
And while we’re on that topic, when Denver was building Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, an otherwise excellent stadium, could they NOT have thought about traffic patterns a little bit? Maybe put in some room for people to get out? Yes, this also led to a heated discussion about patience and how the soccer game was worth 30 minutes of inconvenience once in a while. Whatever.
Let me be clear. These heated discussions were just that – heated. We never yelled, and in fact – I don’t think Bryan and I have actually yelled at each other in years.
But, when we were approximately 3 minutes from finally being home, Declan firmly interrupted us from the back seat.
“Mama. Dada. I have three things to tell you.
One. Can you please stop talking about this? Because you are going to make me cry.
Two. Can I have your iPhone to play with?
Three. When we get home, can you give me my asthma medicine, because my throat is itchy.”
I swear to god, that is exactly what he said, because I wrote it down last night. And Bryan and I both had to turn our faces into the windows, trying to not laugh in his face.
BECAUSE. HELLO. How awesome and sensitive and hilarious is my kid? He must have been rehearsing that speech for at least 10 minutes.
For the record, the answers were: Yes, No, Yes.
And we also went on to tell him that sometimes grown-ups don’t agree on everything and it’s healthy for us to work out our problems. That we were respectfully discussing our issues, and while it may not be the playful banter he was used to, it was good for him to see us working through our problems just like it was good for him to see us getting along. [Within reason, of course.]
This made him feel better… and by then, we were in the driveway having a family hug.
Whew.
I digg your answer. It’s reality. Parents don’t always agree and kids need to see that mom & dad can iron it out. And for the record, I’d say Yes, Yes, Yes. The second Yes, the result of hearing so many good reviews on the iPhone 3Gs. Oh the sacrifices we make as parents 😉
Good way to address it with your son! I like that. Also an interesting topic in itself: online boundaries. Since my husband doesn’t tweet, I guess I’m lucky. But, I am ALWAYS thinking “how would this make me feel if he said it about me” before I tweet or blog about anything personal.
Caleb – normally we would have let him play with one of them, but we were so close to home and the iphone was what was playing the music in the car. ha.
And thanks for the kind works to both of you.
oops, kind words. and Mamabird – yes… online boundaries. sigh. BIG TOPIC.
he is such a lovely kid. – m
I’m not sure I’ve ever commented before, but I just wanted to say: thanks. This is a great post. My parents fought in front of me and my brother a lot when we were kids and nobody ever took the time to explain to us that, hey, sometimes parents disagree and it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. You guys are doing a great job.
I think it’s good for them to see that even people who have promised to love each other forever don’t always agree. Makes them more resilient when they disagree with their own friends now and in future relationships.
So yay to you and Bryan and Declan for working it out!
ABSOLUTELY – My parents never even so much as disagreed in front of us and that let me to believe that my marriage was doomed (initially) because we *gasp* had arguements. The lesson that I want to teach my children is that you can disagree and be passionate about something and yet still love and respect each other. Great post!
unfortunately, I’ve been guilty of allowing my child to see TOO MANY unhealthy disagreements. Trying to undo that in a healthy manner is taking time…good for you for doing it right!
That’s one sweet kid.
love love love this.
Awwww.
Kudos on how you handled it.
Awesome.