Communication

"Mom, I need to talk to you" ... just like that. So grown up. Of course I am thinking he has done something wrong and is finally ready to fess up. Wow, was I in for a shocker! Just minutes before Dylan said these seven little words I had asked him to clean up the Wii, his Nerf guns and get his book to read before bed. Oh, and I told him I was going to finish filling out his Otter Log. (Otter Logs are filled out weekly to track how many minutes he reads)

So we sit on the couch and sensing that he was nervous, I told him he could tell me anything he wanted. He takes a deep breath and 'lays into me' ... "Mom, you don't have to be so mean to me when you tell me to clean up. You make me feel like a slob and it hurts my feelings. All you have to say is clean up the Wii. You don't need to say Clean up the Wii, and the remotes, and the games. Just say the Wii. And I know the bullets go with the Nerf gun. Oh, and you don't need to tell me you are filling out my Otter Log either. Just do it and put it in my homework folder."

Once I was able to get a word in I let him know that I understood and that I was sorry I made him feel like a "slob", but that sometimes he doesn't pick up and needs to be told each little thing. He informed me that his teacher called him a slob one time because his desk was messy and that it hurt his feelings. I said, "Maybe you need to work on that and make sure your desk stays clean" ... He agreed.

Communication at it's finest.

Now let's read ...