Life lessons can appear in the most unexpected places. I was working on one of my blogs last week at the kitchen table. The smoke alarm starts ringing. I look up and can see smoke coming out of the oven which triggered the alarm.
My teenage daughter had just 5 minutes prior put cookies in the oven to bake. I holler for her to come into the kitchen and as you can imagine she is freaking out. We open up the oven door and I see that she put the cookie dough on wax paper that was melting and smoking. I told her what was causing the smoke and told her to pull out the cookie trays.
My daughter’s instincts were to bolt and leave it all for me to deal with. I quickly handed her the oven mitts and repeated, pull out the cookie trays. She did and kept saying over and over again; I am so sorry.
As she was pulling out the trays, I was waving a dish towel at the smoke detector … I should mention we live in a 3 story townhouse; so when one goes off … they ALL go off. I soon got the smoke detector to stop and told her to open back door and window.
She was just about to ask why when the smoke alarm went off again. Now, I’m laughing as I’m waving a dish towel at the smoke detector to get it to stop again. My daughter is not seeing much humor in the situation at all as she’s opening up doors and windows. I tell her to grab a dish towel and help me. She starts laughing because of how ridiculous we look waving dish towels in thin air to circulate it.
I told her, there is nothing to be sorry for; it is a life lesson she will never forget. What makes our relationship special is I said to her “Do you know why I knew what exactly needed to be done?”
‘No,’ came her answer.
Because I’ve done this myself … several times. I always love the BIG eyes and astonished look on her face and her saying ‘YOU DID?’
Admitting that I’m very human opened up the door for us to discuss her situation and the steps we took from making it a bigger problem. I used it as an education moment; instead of treating it like a mistake. It also let her know that I too make mistakes and it’s okay to talk about them; even laugh over them.
The very next action she took pleased me. She resumed her cookie making instead of fearing the oven.
Life is good!
Debbi Dickinson is a professional woman who understands the challenges of balancing work, home, love and carving time out for you. Her website is filled with blogs, articles and newsletters written specifically for women. To gain access to a free gift designed exclusively for professional women, visit her website at: http://www.steppingintojoy.com