The Caring Counselor

I definitely lucked out when it came to the two stepchildren I inherited. They are both fantastic kids my seventeen-year-old stepdaughter and seven-year-old stepson. However, them occasionally challenging me comes with the territory of being their fatherly figure.

The little guy definitely likes to push my buttons from time to time. One he unintentionally presses is my pet peeve of being ungrateful or whiny when he doesn’t get his way. He seldom does it intentionally, but it does get under my skin. Both my girlfriend and I grew up in a way where we learned to appreciate what we have and show that gratitude (just another thing I love about her).

So one morning, like many before, the little dude drug his heels on getting ready for school. Making me run behind schedule for work. Hissy fit commence. He grew upset that I wouldn’t let him watch YouTube on his tablet while he got dressed. I explained to him that he gets distracted and that we needed to go. With poking and prodding, we got out the door.

I took the drive to school as a learning opportunity. “Do you know what it means to be ‘grateful’?”

He wasn’t really sure. After a moment of contemplation, I thought of a way to dumb down the concept, so a second grade could understand it.

“It means to be thankful and appreciate what we do have. If we keep focusing on what we don’t have, we are always going to be disappointed and let down. Instead, we can be happy for what we do have. Like I’m grateful to have a family.”

It seemed to click. He followed my comment with, “I’m grateful for having a great stepfather.” Little brown nose.

-The Caring Counselor