Talking in Triplicate

There are a zillion things we want to say to our kids.
Zillions of wisdom nuggets that will make their life so much better than ours, right?
We work on it everyday, conveying wisdom like a conveyer belt and wishing we could just hit a download button on the data files from our brains to theirs.
Next thing you know, your child is waving goodbye from the window of a car that drags bottom because it is loaded with all the stuff needed for that dorm room or new apartment. Your kid is looking at you in his rear view mirror and pressing the accelerator.
Trusting God is important in life.
While I do trust God about my kids, yeah, okay, most of the time anyway, I’ve learned to talk in triplicate now while I have the chance.
Talking in triplicate accomplishes three things.
-First, they can ignore you. And they probably will.
-Second, they hear you.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time,” they say, even though they were ignoring you the first time. They are hoping that if they acknowledge you now, you will quit passing along Nuggets of Wisdom.
-Thirdly, they learn to pray.
How does this prayer thing work?
Well, they learn the prayer of well-brought up children everywhere, “Please, Lord, don’t let Mom tell me that Wisdom Nugget for the zillionth time!”
Talking in triplicate is really good for children, in the same sense that vegetables are really good for children.
Redundancy lets them know we are paying attention.
Like a politician in my own home, I’ve learned to lobby for wisdom.
And to talk in sound bites.
My favorite soundbites for college-bound children include the following:
“Remember, you always reap what you sow.” My elementary-aged son learned this year that you can sow respect and reap it. But just in case some college-age kids somewhere are thinking of drinking and driving or doing drugs, I like the way this saying cuts two ways.
“Your future will be good.” Moms know these things.
“Professors are people, too.” I also like its corollary, “All people have a story, if you will listen.”
“Have some fun, but not the kind that gets you arrested.”
Of course, after twenty years of hearing Wisdom Nuggets in triplicate, the prayers of our children tend to evolve.
“Lord, help me be patient with my mom!”
I wouldn’t be surprised if they pray that prayer in triplicate.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, waves goodbye to her kiddoes from the driveway of her home in Texas. Comments are invited at cathykrafve@gmail.com or http://checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.