Parenting in the ChatGPT World & Rescuing a Fawn

Jul 08, 2023

Happy Saturday friends!

Please forgive strange formatting, unintended bold type, and anything else out of the ordinary—my computer died yesterday so I’m creating this post from my iPad. Doable, but some weird stuff happening!

We are big fans of OpenAI/ChatGPT over here, ever since B-Rad introduced us to it. It helps us in all kinds of ways (like here are things in my pantry, I need a recipe) and for me, it’s helping me craft an email to local breweries so I can offer Paint and Sips! It’s very good, but it doesn’t give the feel of “me” right? So there is a lot of editing but it gives a good start!

So! ManChild likes to come out of his little ManChild Cave in the evening (9-10pm is a favorite time) right when B-Rad and I are starting to wrap things up and think about bed. This is ManChild’s FAVORITE TIME TO TALK and OMG we have both had it. Get up at a normal time and have breakfast or lunch with us and we can talk then! Let’s talk while making dinner and AT dinner! But no. We’ve explained this to him. We need time to decompress from our day. Reminded him about how we don’t insist upon talking to him when he comes home from school, when he just needs to go to his room and be quiet for a long time.

You guys, it’s just not registering with him.

He feels like he’s being “kicked out” of our room because, well, he is LOL. No, not really, he’s welcome to come hang out with us when we’re getting ready for bed. But if I’m in bed reading you (as they say in the south) BEST not be talking to me!

So, yesterday ManChild says he asked ChatGPT (who he has named Jarvis) about it! This was his question: Why do my parents kick me out when I come into their bedroom at a late hour to talk with them and they’re still awake!

And the lovely Jarvis said this:

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulties with your parents. While I can't know the specifics of your situation, I can offer some general insights that might help you understand their behavior.

Parents may have various reasons for asking their children to respect certain boundaries regarding late-night conversations, even if they are awake. Here are a few possible reasons:

1. Privacy and personal space: Parents, like everyone else, may value their privacy and personal space. They may view their bedroom as a place for relaxation, unwinding, and having personal time. They might feel the need to establish boundaries to maintain their own well-being.

2. Sleep and rest: Late-night conversations can disrupt sleep patterns and affect overall well-being. Your parents may prioritize getting enough rest to ensure they can function well during the day. They might feel that late-night conversations could interfere with their sleep quality.

3. Timing and availability: Your parents might have specific routines or commitments during the day that require them to have uninterrupted rest at night. They might prefer to have conversations with you during more suitable times when they can fully engage and devote their attention to you.

While it's important to communicate with your parents and maintain a healthy relationship, it's also crucial to understand and respect their boundaries. It might be helpful to have a conversation with them during a more appropriate time, expressing your desire to talk and finding a mutually agreeable time and place that respects their needs as well.

Remember, every family dynamic is unique, so open and honest communication is key to understanding each other's perspectives and finding a compromise that works for everyone involved.

He read that to us while grinning, knowing that we have explained these exact things to him already. I asked him what he thought.

He said, “It makes sense.”

“Sure. It’s the same thing we’ve been saying. Why is it different coming from Jarvis?”

“Well, Jarvis is nicer in the way he said it.”

Haaaa!!!

If he comes in to talk when it’s late again, can I say, “Jarvis says no.”?

I’ve heard about people using AI as therapists. I’m all for it. There aren’t enough. I love that he used it and understood it better than he understood us. All teens need to start using it for dealing with us parents, life would be so much easier!

THE RANCH

I’ve started rinsing Raynie off every couple of days because she doesn’t deal with the heat well—I can relate. Zoom in on her back, that’s steam coming off of her! Also, can we discuss the rainbow coming right across her third eye area??? OMG! Of course this is the horse that I can hear so clearly :-)

If Rayn is in a coaching session with me, she is mostly nearby but not usually up close to the client. But this week, she was up close and personal with a client and it was so interesting to see her aligning different areas of her body with this client, bringing awareness to various things that were (or weren’t) happening in her life. The client’s face looked just like my drawn version!

A few weeks ago I was in a session with a client and Sweetness the mini donkey. He came in, walked over to the corner, and laid down. Flat on his side.

Ok, that was weird.

I told them that this was not normal for him! Normally he’s a little pocket donkey, right up with clients, in their personal space, offering his own “hands on healing” or maybe “nose on healing.”

Sweetness lifted his head a few times from his prone position and gave us the side eye, “Are you paying attention Mom? Ask her!” I asked my client if this reminded her of anything as it was something very specific that he was doing, far out of the norm. Tears welled up and the work began.

I don’t understand how the animals feel the energy of a person and are able to act out pieces of it, but they do and it’s magical and so helpful to find exactly where we need to head. That’s why I call them my “co-coaches”—they are a part of the process.

•••

Our neighbor texted on Tuesday, could we come help with a baby deer stuck in a fence? We raced over with wire cutters and B-Rad freed her.

I held her (much to her dismay and I have a bunch of tiny bruises to show from those pokey little hooves, elbows, and knees) so I could look over her injuries. She had a cut on one ear but it looked superficial so I put her down and she bolted away, seeming to know where she was going. The neighbor confirmed that’s where the mom and the twins always come up from so hopefully she found her little family and is okay!

Holding a baby deer with a small cut on her ear made me look like this: