Seven Ways to Keep the Peace at Home by Daniel Sugarman: Peaceful Living at Home
Jeff Kraucunas
Peaceful Living at Home There are a variety of simple steps to keep the peace at home; one must know how to follow them. In Daniel Sugarman’s short story, Seven Ways to Keep the Peace at Home, these steps are outlined. My home would be more peaceful if my family followed three of Sugarman’s steps: tell it like you feel it, don’t play telephone, and stop the “good guy”- “bad guy” routine. “Tell it like you feel it” is a great way to keep peace in my family. Tell it like you feel it would allow my family to become more involved in each other’s lives and more aware of everyone’s feelings. Often, my mother will be upset with my father for not telling her something, like if he let one of my brothers do something without her permission. She’ll hold her feelings in and leave him guessing what he did wrong. Because my father is never told the issue, he is unable to fix it and is put in a tough position. If my family members each convey how they are feeling, then it will be easier for them to help and give advice to improve the situation. Holding feelings back can weaken a relationship. This step also allows us to be straight-forward with our feelings and not hold anything back. “Playing telephone” in a family can ruin connections. No two people can tell a story the same way. There will always be parts missing or parts added when told again. My grandmother has a tendency to switch stories around. If my mother were to tell her that something will be done, my grandmother thinks that means right at that moment. She’ll then go to my father and tell him that my mother said it has to be done now. A good way of dealing with playing telephone is by talking to the person directly involved, instead of having someone else do it. If one were to tell a third party before telling the person involved, it could make the situation worse and cause arguments. If the person involved hears it from someone else first, and the story gets switched
Peaceful Living at Home There are a variety of simple steps to keep the peace at home; one must know how to follow them. In Daniel Sugarman’s short story, Seven Ways to Keep the Peace at Home, these steps are outlined. My home would be more peaceful if my family followed three of Sugarman’s steps: tell it like you feel it, don’t play telephone, and stop the “good guy”- “bad guy” routine. “Tell it like you feel it” is a great way to keep peace in my family. Tell it like you feel it would allow my family to become more involved in each other’s lives and more aware of everyone’s feelings. Often, my mother will be upset with my father for not telling her something, like if he let one of my brothers do something without her permission. She’ll hold her feelings in and leave him guessing what he did wrong. Because my father is never told the issue, he is unable to fix it and is put in a tough position. If my family members each convey how they are feeling, then it will be easier for them to help and give advice to improve the situation. Holding feelings back can weaken a relationship. This step also allows us to be straight-forward with our feelings and not hold anything back. “Playing telephone” in a family can ruin connections. No two people can tell a story the same way. There will always be parts missing or parts added when told again. My grandmother has a tendency to switch stories around. If my mother were to tell her that something will be done, my grandmother thinks that means right at that moment. She’ll then go to my father and tell him that my mother said it has to be done now. A good way of dealing with playing telephone is by talking to the person directly involved, instead of having someone else do it. If one were to tell a third party before telling the person involved, it could make the situation worse and cause arguments. If the person involved hears it from someone else first, and the story gets switched