Thursday, May. 31, 2012 - 7:10 a.m.

Up here in Sedona. Really is sublime. (typing On phone, hence abbreviated syntax).

Getting along with in-laws ok. Well. I always get along, but am experiencing only limited irritation so far.

Brother in law keeps yanging on about the local school systems-- he does have some professional expertise in this area, so if I had any plans to send her school, I'd be more interested than I am. He can sense my lack of interest and it seems to spur him on to talk even more about it. He's like the economist version of the cat that can find the one cat-hater in the room to rub up on.

This thing with Q throwing stuff also has him inquiring after our disciplinary philosophy. About this he knows jack shit. He doesn't even understand the diff between punishment and discipline. "So deterrence essentially plays no role in your idea of discipline?". Um, no. Natural consequences are usually effective deterrents, unlike arbitrary punishments. Consequences can take many forms. I choose not to use cruel or pointless ones. He claims he just wants to discuss, but I feel like I have to be very defensive about it and am not interested in playing, at least not the game as he's set it up. Fortunately mil (and even more importantly, J) agrees with my strategies in this case (though we haven't discussed the general philosophy of it very much, which is fine by me).

Mornings are the best time here, sitting alone (emphasis on ALONE) on this giant deck, looking at scenery and drinking tea. They end too soon.

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