Who is the most difficult person in your life?”

My pastor asked us to just be quiet for a minute and think about that. Sadly, I didn’t need the whole minute.

Do you know who I thought of instantly? One of my own kids. Awful.

Ok. Ok. In my defense it is summer. And this kid of mine has “nothing left to do.” And when this kid has nothing left to do, this kid does stupid things…or, as my wife more diplomatically puts it, he doesn’t make the best choices. (I’m sticking with “stupid things”.)

And then I do stupid things. I react too quickly. I punish without listening. I raise my voice. The cheese slides right off my crackers.

Surely I’m not the only one among us here, only halfway through summer, with a head full of regrets already.

Read the rest (and learn about the proven power of words) over at The Art of Simple today.