Twelve days of vacation with 2 of my daughters, ages 16 & 18. Twelve days on a road trip starting in Minnesota, driving through Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Twelve days in the car and hotel rooms together. Twelve days of having fun, building memories, and strengthening our already-wonderful relationships. We're become more than "family". We're truly good friends.
What was the key to coming home better friends after spending 12 days together in close quarters?
Courtesy. Civility. Consideration.
Were there tense moments when one of us was a little irritable? Yes. Were there times when a sharp comment, negative thought, or criticism could have been voiced? Of course. But we refrained. We had made the conscious decision before the trip that we would treat each other with kindness, give each other the benefit of the doubt, and assume that if someone was a little crabby, they were probably just tired and needed us to leave them alone instead of becoming "offended" or responding.
As a young mother, many years ago, I was given some wonderful advice. "Catch 'em being good". It's easy for us to have "company manners" with people we're not around all the time. It's much harder to keep that same perspective with our families. I believe that our homes, families, and we ourselves, would be much happier and have more peace if we practiced the 3 C's of social skills with everyone.
Courtesy. Civility. Consideration. A simple way to make a positive difference, one person at a time.
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