A Cookie Lesson

 
As I bake my Christmas cookies, there's always one I make with the very last of the dough, which I usually call the "sludge cookie". It can be eaten immediately while the others are frozen/chilled for packing once the baking is complete.
 
Last night, I finished a batch & walked into the living room where H & S were. I stood there & waited for each of their reactions. S, of course, was nasty & H was like, "hey, what's up?" So I say, "Daddy wins the sludge cookie!"
 
"What?! Not fair!" says my son. So I give H the cookie, but he said he already brushed his teeth, so S could have it; "But let this be a lesson to you to always treat your mother well, because you never know what she has for you."
 
Whether S learned from it or not, I don't know. But we tried using the teachable moment!
 
***
 
Uncomfortable situation on Friday night...we were at small group bible study & H decided to go out for the 1st time this year. It went OK for the most part. But after almost everyone left, he & another guy got into a political discussion...big mistake! The other guy is pro-Obama & H is a staunch conservative. And anyone who's read here about him knows that anything Rush Limbaugh said is gold. Well, the guy put down Rush...then all the yelling got louder & more personal.
 
I walked out of the room & my friend (the one I went walking with & got nachos with before) tried talking to me off-topic, but I could barely keep my thoughts coherent. (As I've said, I really, really hate anger! Especially loud, yelling anger!)
 
Fortunately, the conversation did end; the guy's wife gave me a hug goodbye (we seem to both be in the same situation!) and my friend & her husband gradually talked my H down. Thank goodness most everyone had left at that point!
 
My opinion? Let everyone have their own opinion. Neither of them can single-handedly take down America themselves.
 
***
 
But to end on a positive note, I have a good boundaries story. When we got home that night, I noticed on my iPhone that my sister wanted to chat on FB about when we were going to meet about me giving back the family pictures & a painting. So I logged on the computer (phone was almost dead) & the convo turned to what the kids want for Xmas. Long story short, she started hammering me with question after question about what they want (& her rejecting what I told her what they wanted).
 
I gave her my daughter's email (my son doesn't check his) & she continues hammering. So I was like, "Look...you're going to have to ask the kids what they want. I just wanted to check in about when we're meeting. I'm tired & I'm going to bed." So she backed right off.
 
Really, she & they need to communicate with each other about gifts & leave me out of it. The kids aren't babies anymore. And I don't need to play "telephone" with their suggestions & her rejections. I also made it clear to the kids the next day that they need to communicate to their aunt as well.
 
So I'm proud of myself that I didn't allow myself to be sucked into a debate!