A mom of three kids, one of my favorite times of day is when everyone is tucked in for the night, put down… it is only then I get to crawl into bed and choose from my endless stack of books to be read. Tonight my son came in just as I was marinating in cozy contemplation and about to nod off. He asked,

Mom, can you come and lay with me while I go to sleep?

Important note: he’s 13… not 3!

Before I tell you what I did, flash back ten minutes before he entered my room. I’m reading Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly in which she references John Gottman’s “sliding door” moments. Sliding door moments are the seemingly inconsequential everyday moments that make or break the most important relationships in our lives. In these moments we have either the possibility of connection or turning away. Of course it doesn’t boil down to one moment but rather the trend established over time. Gottman says that trust erodes very slowly if we continue to turn away.

Back to my moment. My body was bone weary and ached to stay in bed. However, in front of me was a clear choice between building and keeping connection or shutting the door and turning away.

I pulled myself out of bed to take this moment with him.

CONSIDER⇔SHARE⇔ACT