Takes the sting out...

You know, there are a lot of remedies for getting rid of the "sting" of pain. But what about verbal stings? You know, the kind that are quickly delivered and hit just in the intended spot and leave their own sting? You may not be able to see the red pin-prick from the verbal zinger, but that does not mean it isn't there.

And as parents, we sure would not let our children do this, so why do we do it to other people? Is it because we are adults that we think it is OK? Our defenses are better, our feelings more shallow? Not true.

I can tell you, my five year old recently hurt a friends feelings and told her to go home. And I can also tell you that once my daughters temper was dealt with that we walked to the other child's house to say "I'm sorry." But as adults, who holds our hand and helps us to do the right thing and say "I'm sorry"? Because without having someone to do so, it isn't always that easy.

I will also tell you that I was recently told by someone that I was not always nice to them. And it took years for that person to tell me that. And to that person, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, and I'm sorry I felt it was OK to not be as nice to you as I could have and should have been. That was wrong of me.

As we finish up our holiday shopping and wrap up the year, maybe we can stop for a moment and bite our tongues when lines seem too long and tempers flare. What seems OK to say or do one minute really won't matter in the next. And you never know whose feelings you may spare by doing so.

This segment of Deep Thoughts, brought to you by me.