Busted

Again the car phone startled Stevie. "Stevie, this is Jon. Collin just called and said you're going after Shawna. What's the deal?" Feelings taunted her. Good mothers don't get called to camp to pick up delinquent daughters. "

"Shawna was outside her cabin with another girl after lights-out and they're kind of hard-nosed about their rules," attempting to trivialize the incident. "That sounds a little severe to me," replied Jon. He paused, "Stevie, I'd like to spend some time with the kids this weekend, if that's all right with you. Maybe pick them up after Collin's soccer game, take them out to dinner and a movie. And I want them to go to church with me in the morning."

Stevie replied, “Shawna really should be grounded over this camp thing. "Geez, Stevie, can't you bend a little for once and come up with a way to punish her without punishing me?”

Why did their conversations so often deteriorate into criticisms of one another's parenting techniques? As usual, Jon was interfering in her attempts to discipline one of their children. "All right, Jon," she conceded. "I'm too tired to argue with you."