Translated…
My elementary age son is naturally talkative, and every time he finishes reading a book, he couldn’t wait to share his findings with his classmates in class, and his talking out of turn had given his teacher a huge headache. And, at meal time when he’d come home, he’d spoken incessantly, and, he would, bite on his tongue from time to time. And, normally, I would, believe that my son talked too much, but from time to time, I’d felt grateful, for him being so talkative, like that light that light up the night, illuminating my darkened life.
Several times I’d gotten into verbal altercations with my husband endlessly, and my husband turned to my son, “Son, come, be the judge, who is more reasonable, your mom or I?”, my son shook his head, like he’s totally uninvolved, unrelated, said to us, “Dad, you’re not right, and mom is unreasonable too, there’s no way I’ll allow you to use me as the shield between you two.”, there was also this one time, as my husband and I were holding firm to our separate beliefs, both unwilling to back down, my son saw that he couldn’t interject, he’d used his humor, said, “Please don’t fight over who I take after, so handsome as I am, okay?”, as we heard his joke, both of us couldn’t help but laughed, and we’d put up our weapons, our tongues, and called it truce.
After retirement, my husband was, no longer troubled by work, and started picking at the nitty-gritty things at home, and magnified my bad qualities, and started picking on me endlessly. And, normally, I’d carried this at ease temper, I’d felt so taken, and once, my husband was out, and I took the advantage, and cried to my son, “I can no longer put up with your father anymore, he’d become so unreasonable now, always nagged me incessantly, I’m about to blow up here, I really want to just, run away from home now.” My son turned into a philosopher that very minute, “the key to getting along as a couple is compromise. I’d often fight with a friend too, and there was once, that one of my classmate tried strangling me, and, look at how well we’d gotten along now?”, my son’s word caused me to, fall silent, and I’d felt, very embarrassed.
Awhile ago, I’d told my son, half falsely, “I really can’t live like this anymore, I’ll wait until you’re independent, and your dad and I will get a divorce, so you won’t have to keep getting stuck in the middle, how do you think?” My son had that “I’m in charge here” air, stated, “You two are getting a divorce? Even if the paperwork’s set, as long as I’m here, nobody’s leaving this house!”
It’s a wonder that there’s a saying, “Children are lubricant in a marriage”, it’s truly so!
And maybe, you think, that this son is kind, and wonderful, stepping in as the middleman in his parents’ marriage, and, he seemed to take up the role with ease too, but, think about it, if it were you, the adults, would YOU want to get stuck between two people you loved, constantly asking you to choose sides? If not, then, the next time the two of you get into it, do think about, how that kid that shared your GENETIC material would feel, and maybe, that will be enough, to cause whatever differences you two may have to vanish………