Recently my daughter and son-in-law, James Bond, visited us in Luverne. We had fun visiting some of the local sites. While visiting the Pipestone National Monument, a visitor from Germany was walking the trail. James began to speak to him in German, since he was stationed in Germany recently, and the warm feeling was evident as a person from another country felt welcomed There is an old story about Mama Mouse who was introducing her offspring to the ways of the world, when they were confronted by a cat. Mama immediately began barking like a dog. The cat took off. Turning back to her young, Mama Mouse announced, "That shows the importance of learning a second language!"How many languages do you and I need to know? Quite a few. Mothers and dads, for example, need to know how to speak the language of love and security to their children. They need to also know how to speak the language of discipline and guidance. They need to know how to speak loud and soft — stern and kind — happy and sad. This is part of what makes our communication with our children so incredibly difficult. When confronted by a crisis, how easy it is to accidentally speak the wrong language at the wrong time!Good communication within our families is very important. Let’s try to take the time necessary to develop the "languages" we need to communicate with one another in our families.
