Down, Please!

Always signal your intentions!

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My youngest daughter is 22 lbs of pure angst! She can certainly act sweet and cute, but when she gets riled-up the whole universe knows it! 😩 She is a petite little 2 year old with a strong and wiry frame to match her personality! When I hold her she usually grips on like a spider monkey, but when she wants down the fierce twisting and pushing causing my arm to rapidly shift direction, resulting in a torquing pain. I would honestly rather be arm-barred by my boys in BJJ…which is bad enough (read here)! To help reduce the struggle for when she want’s down, I have been teaching her to say or sign - "Down, please!" It’s working well enough...

We are currently in the midst of instructing our 18 year old son the fabulous and useful art of how to drive a car. There is a real sense of freedom in learning how to drive and there are many Tom Petty songs to back this up - “Running down a dream!” 🥳 Many years ago I adopted a rule and burn this into the minds of my kids while learning to drive - always use your turn signal. You may be on a lonely highway at 1 AM in the morning with no one else around, but you still signal your intentions! Why so adamant? It’s not only important to signal your intentions to others, but possibly even more important - to signal your intentions to yourself! You (and those around you) need to know when an action may affect them. We are around family, friends and colleagues much of our lives. Many of our actions may result in them needing to adjust, adapt, join us or maybe even dismiss themselves.

Transparency of intentions is more important than people realize, because we may never fully appreciate what ‘seemingly’ small actions can potentially cause someone else pain, worry, frustration or maybe even joy, amusement or calmness. We could use the ‘pebble’ analogy with ripples in the water effecting far-off shores but we could also talk about blending a smoothie in the kitchen while someone is making a phone call in the dining room (we have a small house and this has happened.) Needing to jump into a Teams meeting at your desk while there is a boisterous collaboration happening in the adjacent cubical anyone? Instead of frustration, try communication and request if they could lower their conversation volume.

Being courteous and transparent could save someone's life, help avoid aggravation or in my case - greatly reduce arm pain! 💪🏻

Enjoy your week and live your Default Life!

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