My kids are generally quite honest. This is good because they are incredibly inept at lying. A prime example comes in the form of my son when it comes to brushing his teeth. Or rather, not brushing them. If he has cleaned his crooked off-whites, it's all sweetness and chubby angelic cheeks and here, Daddio -- have a whiff of my minty Colgate breath. If he hasn't, he'll lie right to your face, providing your face is floating somewhere up near the ceiling because that is where his eyes roll up toward when he lets the bull fly. "Let me smell your breath," I'll ask. "Maahh! You … [Read more...]
Life Lessons Taught to Teens at This Dad’s Driving School
“You have to trust the other drivers,” my father said gently. With those words, my fingers loosened on the wheel, my shoulders relaxed, and my eyes refocused on the right side of the road. I was 16 and about to take a driver’s education class, but my father and I thought it might help to practice beforehand. (My mother wanted no part of it.) For many teens, it would have been time to cue the father-son tension. But my father had always been laid-back and hands-off, so I did not dread driving with him. Even though this was his sixth time teaching driving to a nervous teenager (I am the … [Read more...]