Roses and Thorns
Say what you will about President Obama. He’s too liberal. He’s not liberal enough. He needs to move to the center. He’s doing just fine. Whatever. But here’s what we can all agree on: his family is cute.
So when I saw a Parade cover story about the adorable Obamas, of course I read it. It was one of those “soft” pieces for which the White House press office was so roundly criticized, right around the time of the Inauguration.
What struck me about the article was a simple story about their family dinners. Each person at the table takes turns sharing the best thing that happened to them that day (the rose) and the worst thing (the thorn). The joke was that Obama’s daughter Malia thought her dad had a “thorny job” as president.
Source: Freefoto.com
We adopted the Roses and Thorns tradition a year ago, and it’s been a blessing for our family. It is such a low pressure way to find out what’s going on in my second grader’s life. Our 3-year-old doesn’t understand the concept of thorns yet, but he does eagerly share his roses.
Apparently The First Lady has been telling the Rose and Thorns story again as part of her new anti-obesity campaign. As this great post explains, Roses and Thorns not only helps families connect, it encourages the proper expression of emotion – so that we talk about our feelings rather than eat them away…
Rose and Thorns…have you tried it yet?
— Lynn
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4 Responses to “Roses and Thorns”
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What a beautiful idea! It is a great opportunity to teach your child how to deal with the thorns of life. When our boys were in high school we were the exception because we made them come home for dinner, we ate without the television, and everything was cooked by me from scratch. Looking back now they were some of the best times we had as a family.
Thanks for your comment, Sheri! I’m with you, although I’m hopeful that we’re not the exception in my community. But I do wager I’m pretty lucky that it’s my husband who does all the cooking from scratch! — Lynn
I love this idea! We do ask our 3 year old what her favorite part of the day is but I like the ‘thorn’ concept as well. We will definitely be adding this – thank you for sharing it!
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..what are the green things you do? =-.
I love that idea of a rose and a thorn as well. It’s perfect to try in the summer if you’re kids like gardening. You can have them pick roses and then introduce the topics. I wish I had read that story as well. great post and beautiful picture of the yellow roses.