Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

We had a nice time with our younger son last night.  His wife is at a conference, and I realized it's seldom we see any of our kids without their spouses or children.  It's a rare treat.  We sat at the kitchen table and heard about his work, quite interesting, and some about his hopes and dreams for the future.  I'm honored when any of our kids shares something deep about themselves.  We try not to cross any boundaries, but it's good to hear how they are thinking and what their goals are.  We've tried hard to respect their privacy, especially as we had problems with our own parents giving us unsolicited advice and feeling certain they knew what was best for us.  I don't even KNOW what is best for my kids, and they've often surprised me by choosing a path I wouldn't have chosen, then showing me what a wise and rewarding choice it was.  They are different than me, and listening is when I can get a sense of who they really are.  They've all been out from under our care for so very long, that we have to keep getting reaquainted again and again.  It's exciting.