Have you ever heard, “Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing?” I really have to think about that. How could too much sitting on the porch with sweet tea be a bad thing? How could watching too much HGTV be a bad thing? How could hanging out with Jim Brawner too much be a bad thing?

Well, too much HGTV causes me to want to remodel the whole house, drinking too much tea makes me a little buzzed and crazy and honestly I’m sure that leaves Jim Brawner needing a break from me. I’ve really considered good things in the too much category and it’s hard to think of anything in excess that doesn’t roll over to the dark side. Well, maybe one ... my mom used to say there is no such thing as a diamond too big.

I had a mother of two high school kids say to me once, “I just don’t think there is any way I can be available too much for my kids. What do you think?”

She asked, so I told her what I thought and I’m not sure she liked what I said ... “Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. There’s a point where helping becomes enabling. By the time they’re in high school, in my opinion, you’re there to guide and encourage so they can be sent out into the real world as reasonably sane and responsible adults. Be there for them, but require and allow them to take responsibility for themselves.”

She looked at me like this was a new and revolutionary concept. Just like too much water can drown a plant, we can do the same with kids. We can only protect and help so much. After that, it rolls over into the bad category.

Linda Ellis wrote, “I’ve learned though we try to shield our children from life’s hardships and life’s pain ... there will always be occasions in life when a kid needs to walk in the rain.”

Mom was right again. Except for diamonds, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.