In my quest for peace, sometimes I lose sight of the fact that I am the parent. I get to make the decisions.

As a peacemaker and pleaser, I have a hard time when someone is unhappy. I want to fix the problem. But with four kids, odds are, some one person will always be unhappy.

Choosing a movie, or a restaurant, or planning an outing can be torture.

But, over the holiday break, I plowed right through the dissension. I ignored the whining, the complaining, the slamming of doors, and the tears. I threatened with every privilege that I could muster up.

And to my surprise, it worked.

We went to a restaurant of my choosing. We went to a movie of my choosing. We went to the beach to explore the tide pools. And every single time, we had fun, all six of us. No fights, no complaints, just good old family fun.

Looking back, I realize that my parents surely learned this lesson sooner than I. So many times they yelled at one of us five kids, “You’re going to get in that car and you’re going to like it. Or else!”

Threatening kids to have fun. It’s an old tradition, but well worth keeping.

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