Newsletter_August 9, 2016

My youngest daughter shared the following story with me about a conversation she had with her oldest son… one that made me chuckle, and prompted me to ponder the importance of living wholeheartedly.

It is my twelve-year-old grandson’s responsibility is to empty the dishwasher. Because he had been asked several times and only partially completed this task before heading off to play his computer games, his mom took away his time on the computer. At first he protested, and after awhile he came to his mom with an apology and the hope that he would get his computer time renewed. 

He pleaded his case. What my daughter heard my grandson say was, “Mom, please forgive me. Next time you ask, I promise I won’t do a ‘half-assed’ job.

My daughter was shocked that he had so boldly said this to her! She took a deep breath and calmly told him that using this inappropriate language was not a good way to have his computer time re-instated. 

My grandson looked at her quite confused. “What inappropriate language?” His face conveyed his innocence, and so she realized that there was something amiss in their communication. What she heard and what he had said were different. 

“I did not say anything bad,” he continued. “I promise, mom, I won’t do a ‘half-asked’ job again. Next time I’ll empty the dishwasher the first time you ask!”

The actual dialogue as reported on Facebook…

WHAT HIS MOM HEARD PARKER SAY:

Parker: “Mom can I earn back video games? I promise I will not do my chores half ass.”

His Mom: “First, your language is not earning you anything.”