My son and I were watching season one of “The West Wing” on DVD. It is one of his all-time favorite programs, and he had picked up the entire first and second seasons to watch in his spare time over spring break. While he wasn’t always thrilled to share the living room with me, when I could, I plopped down and watched and episode or two. I found myself really coveting the “Situation Room” that they have on that program.
I’m assuming since it’s supposed to be just like the real White House that our president and upper realm of the “big cheeses” have a “Situation Room” too where they go to make really big decisions and deal with top secret, serious, well…situations. I told my son that I thought it would be really cool and I’d feel mighty powerful if I could call my kids (or kid, depending on the “situation”) into our very own “Situation Room” to deal with problems, mishaps, and plans.
Instead, in our household, we are often trying to have a serious conversation amidst ringing phones, pestering cats, and other people wandering in and out asking if I have any money or what we’re going to have for dinner. If we had a “Situation Room”—I could sit at one end of the long, wooden table all stoic and marvelously “in charge” and we could utilize Power Point presentations and charts and maps to get down to the bottom of just exactly why so-and-so missed curfew or what the very nature of the call from school was about.
Yes, I cannot help but think of the chaos that would be eliminated and the authority I would possess. Instead of a “chicken in every pot,” I think I’d rather have a “Situation Room” for every family…
See Also: Calls From the School and Can You Stay Calm and Neutral During Discipline?