Josh Listens In

Earlier I spoke about how I was feeling I've lost focus and direction lately. So last night Papa and I talked about it, among other things. Josh (8y) desperately wanted to sit in and listen to the conversation. We told him we wanted 30 minutes to ourselves and after that he was welcome to listen in, but he had to sit quietly without interrupting.

"What if I have questions?" he asked.
"Here's a notebook and pen, you can write them down and ask them all at the end." I replied.

So we're talking, 30 minutes passes, Josh comes back out to listen quietly. We talked about a range of things, including frustrations we had with each other, goals we had and how we could support each other, and we poked fun at things we disagree about.

I was glad Josh listened in. I think kids need to see adults grappling with their emotions. They need to hear how people can peacefully voice their grievances with one another and make amends. They need to see the "behind the scenes" operation of relationships, households, families.

After we were done, we asked if he had any questions.
"Just one. Well, it's not a question. It's a suggestion. You know when you were saying you weren't happy sometimes? I came up with a solution- More family time outside!"

Great solution. ♥