Allow me to air my dirty laundry...literally.
This morning I came out to my garage to find all the clean clothes I had just washed and dried were now laying all over the dirty floor, mingling with other dirty laundry. It seems that one of my lovely teenage children decided to do their laundry, and was inconvenienced by my laundry that was still in the dryer. Rather than put it in a basket, this child placed it in an overflowing heap on a chair in the garage.
When I discovered the scene, I was seeing red! I was ready to lash out at the guilty party and let them know my fury. Thankfully, I had to leave for work, and had 20 minutes to stew in my anger...and to come to my senses.
My husband, who received my initial angry text about the terrible act, also gave me a little perspective. He, who is usually the strict parent, reminded me that it was just laundry.
Yes. It's just laundry. And teaching my teen the proper way to handle leftover clothes - with kindness! - is a much better way to get the message across than to unleash my vengeful monster inside.
My anger had been like a poison inside of me, and the person I was hurting most was me. Had I said everything I had been thinking on that drive, I would have driven a wedge between my teen and me, and no positive lesson would have been learned.
But with a gentle reminder, the seed is planted. Kind words are always better. Especially with teens. 😉
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