I told him that I was driving and it was dark so counting the money wouldn’t be a good idea until we got home.
Soon he started telling me how many of each denomination of bill and coin he had and when I added it up, it wasn’t what he should have had. Of course, this just upped his insistence on getting the money out while the car was in motion. Turns out that he didn’t get the volume of certain coins correct.
Anyway, when he was pestering me about getting out the money, the lyrics from “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers) popped in my head and stayed there.
The song is fundamentally about learning to be discerning and to use self-control. My son has never learned to choose an appropriate time and venue to discuss various topics or to move forward with an action. So, his behavior led to a discussion about practicing self-control.... or in AJ terms, “choosing to wait” to do or say things.
In the process of me writing this, he has come out of his room and informed me that he doesn’t feel well. I asked how much pizza he had tonight when he went out with everyone. He told me the number of slices plus the number of bowls of spaghetti. More than enough for several people. So, now another discussion on self-control. He interrupted me to say that he needs to “choose to take better portions”. Wow. I didn’t even have to say it.
Perhaps he’s starting to get the concepts. When he grasps the concepts, he has a much better chance of putting them in to practice. Practice self-control and learn to discern what is a good choice at this time.
Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
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