Playing Defense

One great tidbit of advice I received from a Mommy friend was to leave nail clippers in the car. That way I can cut my toddler's nails when he falls asleep in his carseat. I came this close to deflecting her advice. Why? Because of how she presented it. I have this problem when people start their suggestion with "How come you haven't...?" Does that presume that I am not doing a good enough job as a Mom? Usually not, it's just the way it came out of the well-meaning friend's mouth. I always mount the defensive whenever I hear that intro. Coming up with all sorts of reasons I didn't think of that or try that myself. I waste time explaining why that way won't work for my child. The sickening part, is that I keep revisiting that moment and convincing myself that this great idea really won't work for me. Once in a while, I am smart enough to pause before rebutting and actually tell the truth. "Well, I haven't tried (fill in the blank) because I didn't think of it until now." Fortunately, I have become comfortable enough with this friend to take my guard down and be mortal long enough to listen and heed the sage advice for my own convenience!