I’m going to paraphrase a real conversation I had with my 11-year old son:
“Dad, why did you have to go skiing that day? You injured your achilles tendon, and now you’re on crutches…..”.
“Well”, I said “I could have been sitting around getting fat and watching TV”. That doesn’t seem so good. And then I could get hurt stepping off of the curb. And I love to ski. I’ve skied for long time, so I’m not just going to not go because I might get hurt”.
“But Dad”, he said, “you got hurt that day, why’d you have to go? I had a bad feeling…”
“That’s the way it is sometimes. I didn’t want to get hurt”. A change in tactic: “So I’m thinking maybe you shouldn’t go to basketball practice tonight. You might twist your ankle or jam your finger. I think you should stay home. You could get hurt.”
“But Dad, I love basketball. It’s fun.”
“It is fun. I love basketball too. Okay, so maybe it’s good to do what you really love to do. Sometimes you will get hurt. That’s the risk you take.”
“Okay, I think I get what you’re saying”
True story as best I recall.
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