Tuesday, August 09, 2005

open mouth, then maintain your innocence.....

Some of the best blessings in my life are things like a hug or an "I love you, Daddy" from one of my girls. As a dad, there's nothing better. On the other hand, the biggest curse for a father is innocently (I repeat - innocently) saying something to your daughter and having them burst into tears.

Women have known for years that men just don't get the total communication game. And for the most part, we men have accepted that. As a father of WITs (women-in-training), just add more complication into the equation. We think we know our daughters, know just what to say and how far we can go with a particular subject, but we never fully know.....until the tears start. If we could just figure out the step right BEFORE the tears start, then we could stop the progress and avert the crisis altogether.

There is one component that is extremely helpful. It's called information. Information is key to communication. This is where the wife comes in. If the husband has information about certain hot buttons, he'll better know what to avoid. This isn't foolproof, however. I've been known to possess information about subjects and still go the extra mile in upsetting a daughter (or two); not to be mean, but rather to hopefully lighten the mood on a particular subject.

As Ray Barone said on another subject in an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode, "The monkey never learns....."

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