Ground Yourself!

I stole this idea from my beautiful daughter. There were so many ways I wanted to spin this, but I think I like the direction this went the best. Jocelynn this is for you!

As we were driving home a few days ago our car was filled with laughter. I am not even sure what it was about, but as we approached the turning lane at a stoplight, a car drove into the lane in front of us. Their blinker was on, so they did not exactly cut us off, but the rate at which they were driving was painfully slow. You could feel the air in our car slowly shift and the frustration began to set in. As we made the turn, it became clear that the driver did not know where they were going and were unsure of what lane they should be in, as they drove down the middle of both lanes.

Everyone just sort of sat silent and watched --- probably watching more so for Dad’s reaction. As we approached the next stoplight and the car came back over into the lane in front of us, we heard from the backseat “Dad, ground yourself.”

They were two words --- two simple words --- but I think they reminded all of us to breathe again. The car in front of us turned and we went through the light quietly. There was no gunning the gas, no honking, no cussing, none of the loud, crazy behaviors that can sometimes present themselves in a moment like this. Just calmness. The laughter did come back rather quickly too, as I said “Jo, that was a good one. Ground yourself.” To which she said “Yeah Mom, cuz I knew Dad was going to get all amped up. I even wanted to cuss.”

What I loved most about this moment was that it was not about us teaching our children, but about our children teaching us. More so, the reminder that we are a family --- a family grounded in faith in God and one another. And, when you have that there is not a whole lot that come against you that you can’t handle.

Have a beautiful evening ya’ll!