The Last 5 Minutes

A couple of nights ago my daughter and I spent the evening discussing a paper she was working on.  She needed to write an essay on her "Laws of Life."  So we spent the later part of the evening discussing things that would make her world (and frankly the world in general) a better place.

First, thanks to the teacher for assigning this!  It was a productive discussion that every parent would love to have with a teenager.  But the fact is, most of the time she doesn't want to have it.  That night, not only was she open to listening to ideas from me...she wanted them!  She was asking me to repeat "remember that time you told me about...tell me that again."  Then she took her thoughts and my "lessons" and had to put them in a paper in her own words.  Such a fantastic exercise. 

Second, I noticed as I was heading to bed that I was in a great mood.  Partially, I'm sure, because I just spent some quality time with my daughter.  But also because I had just spent time actively talking and thinking about the way the world works.

The last law we discussed was: 

"If you really want to feel good, make someone else feel good."  We discussed the spiritual, emotional and even biological reasons this is true.  And she got it. 

I don't know how she will do on the paper.  But in some ways I don't care.  I already learned MY lesson. 

I have read many times that spending the last 5 minutes of the day thinking about what you want is powerful.  And it is. 

But I spent the last 30 minutes of my day discussing what I wanted for my daughter.  And that, my friends, was even better yet.