Post by Rhonda on Nov 1, 2008 22:15:48 GMT -5
THE WAY FAMILIES WIN
Winston Churchill said, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the
streets, we shall fight in the hills." And humorist Bob Orben added,
"That sounds a lot like our family vacations." And for some people it
sounds a lot like everyday life.
The problem is not whether we who live in families will have
squabbles, arguments and fights. My worry is more whether those
conflicts will end anytime soon. I don't want home life to become the
Hundred Years' War - going on and on with no end in sight while the
casualties mount. Conflicts need to have an ending so that the family
can get about its real business.
At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young
players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The
little boy nodded yes.
"Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a
team?" The little boy nodded yes.
"So," the coach continued, "when a strike is called, or you are out
at first, you don't argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you
understand all that?" Again, the boy nodded yes.
"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your
mother."
I believe a family can be like that sports team. A successful family
wins as a team. But if its members are intent upon winning their own
individual battles with one another, the team loses.
A winning solution is to work out the differences and, when it's
over, let it be over. Then they can get back in the game as a team.
-- Steve Goodier
P.S. AIN'T IT SO
Both the thingyroach and the bird would get along very well without us,
although the thingyroach would miss us most. -- Joseph Wood Krutch
(1893 - 1970)
Winston Churchill said, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the
streets, we shall fight in the hills." And humorist Bob Orben added,
"That sounds a lot like our family vacations." And for some people it
sounds a lot like everyday life.
The problem is not whether we who live in families will have
squabbles, arguments and fights. My worry is more whether those
conflicts will end anytime soon. I don't want home life to become the
Hundred Years' War - going on and on with no end in sight while the
casualties mount. Conflicts need to have an ending so that the family
can get about its real business.
At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young
players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The
little boy nodded yes.
"Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a
team?" The little boy nodded yes.
"So," the coach continued, "when a strike is called, or you are out
at first, you don't argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you
understand all that?" Again, the boy nodded yes.
"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your
mother."
I believe a family can be like that sports team. A successful family
wins as a team. But if its members are intent upon winning their own
individual battles with one another, the team loses.
A winning solution is to work out the differences and, when it's
over, let it be over. Then they can get back in the game as a team.
-- Steve Goodier
P.S. AIN'T IT SO
Both the thingyroach and the bird would get along very well without us,
although the thingyroach would miss us most. -- Joseph Wood Krutch
(1893 - 1970)