Hi, Leigh  - great post!

You win the coveted "Smith Group Award for Amusing Stories to Make a Point".  Each of your examples was presented clearly, and with a nice twist of wry humor to nail the point.   I could easily "hear" you telling these stories during a speech ... and that is one of my measuring points for effective storytelling.

The section about how we influence our children struck home for me.  Being parents who wanted to develop critical thinking skills from an early age, we would spend time explaining things and discussing issues with our children starting at very early ages.

This did have the desired effect of producing young adults who are thoughtful, insightful, and understand how to support a position or belief.   Unfortunately, we also had to go four distinct periods (one per child) where they were questioning our parental authority, which they did to a much greater and more effective degree than other children.

Ever catch yourself saying "Because I said so!", and then sending a silent prayer of forgiveness to your own parents for not appreciating what they put up with:)?

Loved this post, but then I expected nothing less:).

John