If there is one thing I am learning as a wife and mom, it is the power that our words have on the people around us. As I write about in the book, I’ve learned that I’m the thermostat of my family. If Mama’s hot (as in angry, steamed, ticked off) – things can get really uncomfortable in our household. If I’m cold (like the stony silent type, or bitterly sarcastic) – the frostbite can be severe.
…So, if I am the the thermostat of my family, than my words can be the buttons that control the overall temperature my family feels. The climate my family experiences.
So where do you start, if you feel like your buttons (words) need some realigning? I think one of the easiest things to start with is finding the words you can eliminate – like name-calling.
I don’t believe there is any room for name-calling in a family. When Cliff and I got married, one of the commitments we made to each other was that we would never call each other, or our future children, names. Words like stupid, moron, idiot, dummy – even in the spirit of kidding, these are not words that will ever build up or encourage the very people we love. So we don’t do say them. There are plenty of people outside your home that will fire these stinging darts of name-calling – don’t allow those darts to be shot within your home too.