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Parenting, Adult Children
Don’t Text Your Adult Kids Bad News
Call them instead. Everyone will feel better.
I recently made the mistake of texting my adult kids some troubling news. I should have called. I would have reached at least one of the two.
I trivialized a critical medical development, possibly life-threatening, and ended with a cheeky close, in all caps. The text is excerpted below.
Another issue has popped up. Long story short last night wound up at hospital with concerns about blood clots in left leg. Being treated aggressively and will be here day or so (?) to get that under control …. Anyway ALL GOOD.
They knew I was in an assisted living facility, recovering from a leg injury. A trip to the hospital, not to mention a short stay, would be a big deal. In no universe would this news be “all good.”
In truth, the news was far from good. The blood clots had traveled to my lungs. (Pro tip: Don’t Google “pulmonary embolism” from a gurney in the ER.)
A text is a cold delivery system. It can hide nuance and heighten anxiety. It offers little context. But if no other options, it’s better than nothing.
But wait, maybe “nothing” was better in this case.
