40 Days of Speaking Softly

recently, I read (and laughed along with) this article.
in which a woman takes on the challenge of not being mean for forty days.
she is challenged to "speak softly, medium-soft."

every day, for forty days, you resist the urge to say anything mean.
this includes sarcasm.
this includes making fun of people.
this includes agreeing with people that make fun of people.

as I told Will the other day, "I'm practicing being patient and kind."
(you see, I've always told myself that when you work with kids, you have to be patient and kind.)
but as a human being, shouldn't I be patient and kind whether or not I work with kids?
doesn't everyone deserve patient and kind?

slip-ups are okay.
in fact, in my case, I'm pretty sure they're inevitable.
(last night, having dinner with my parents at the kitchen table, I tried to not say anything mean about anyone for five minutes and ending up sipping lots of wine and nodding and smiling and saying very little at all)

at the end of each day, I'll write down each time I slipped up -- each time I was mean.
and then I'll try again the next day.
with earnest.

we will see how this goes.