Lately I have been feeling pretty confident that I was exiting “Survival Mode” and moving into a more comfortable approach to parenting, so today I decided a new tactic was worth exploring: gentleness. In every reminder, I used the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit. (It had to be Him since there is very little about me that is gentle). When the kids would ask me a question, I’d respond nicely, calmly, almost in a whisper. When it came time to get Ginger4 ready for preschool, he looked at me in wonderment, amazed I hadn’t yelled at him that we were running late or reminded him that he can’t find his shoes because he failed to put them away the night before. He came to me with a concerned look and asked me if I was feeling okay. Then he yelled at me because we were late to school. Oh, the irony! I suppose all my screaming does this survivalist some good from time to time.