Parenting is Cool

I should save this post for tomorrow since I wrote such a big one about Halloween, but I don't want to forget this story.

On the way to Ms. Jill's this morning, the Monkey and I were discussing Chaotic. Best I can tell, Chaotic is the next generation of Yu-Gi-Oh!, which, frankly, didn't need a next generation. My opinion and the Monkey's opinion differ widely on this matter, though. And so...this conversation:

Me: I don't know. I just think it's kind of ridiculous.

Him: It's not ridiculous! It's cool!

Me: Heh. It's ok. We can think different things about it. It's called "agreeing to disagree"

Him: Ha! That's silly!

Me: Well, the words sound funny but it's actually real! It means that you can think what you think...and I can think what I think...and we're both ok with that. We agree to disagree. It's actually really useful...it can make you stop having silly arguments with someone.

Him: Hmm. So you think it's ridiculous and I think it's cool, but that's ok and we agree to disagree.

Me: Exactly.

Him: Let's practice it!

...and so we did. We had a little 2-block role play on how to end an argument by agreeing to disagree. And I think he actually got it (though who knows if he could remember the tactic in the heat of battle). It was such an awesome moment to see the concept take root for him...to see him get excited by an idea that I know will serve him well later when he remembers to really use it.

You know, so much of parenting gets relegated to the survival mode of being either directive (eat your breakfast, put on your clothes, brush your teeth, do your homework) or corrective (when I say "stop" that doesn't mean "do it one more time only really quick", does it?)... It's an amazing thing to have these little moments of genuine conversation...and knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that maybe I'm actually having an influence on him....

...that maybe this one little time, I absolutely got it right.