I remember when I was a child I would help my father with small handyman projects around the house.  Before we would saw a piece of wood my father would always remind me to “measure twice, cut once”.  I was always rather impulsive and my mother would always remind me to “think before you act”.  Those words of wisdom are ever so valuable today as I am an adult now responsible for a family.

Last month a new family moved next door.  This family seemed to have a lot in common with mine.  We are close in age and have children the same age.  They have a dog and we have a dog.  But the situation seemed to grow stressful when our young daughter was charged at in our front yard by the new neighbor’s loose running pure bred Chow.  In the past the front yard was always a safe place for our children to play until now.  Furiously I began marching towards the neighbor’s home to demand they keep their dog contained, and then I heard my mother’s sweet voice in my head saying “think before you act”.  I stopped and thought about taking on these savages now living next door.  And then I cooled down and thought about how taking revenge on my new neighbors could really change how comfortable my family is in our neighborhood.

I needed a way to communicate with the new neighbors while not jeopardizing a friendly relationship with them.  That is when a friend of ours suggested using an service like .  Our friend was once also in a seeking situation with her boss when she had decided to bring peace to that situation with an .  This solution was perfect for me because I do not like conflict and I really needed an alternative to seeking .  I went online to and typed a calmly worded letter asking my neighbors to please be considerate of the families in the neighborhood by taking better care of their Chow dog by keeping the animal contained.  That was it. Within a week the problem was solved. 

For a few dollars I was able to resolve the conflict with out truly having to take on my neighbors.  I was able to honor my parent’s teachings to think before I acted.  Having the opportunity to remain has allowed me to become friends with my neighbors and enjoy college football games on their super large plasma television.  Remember your options before the seek .