It's Not Personal; It's Business My friend was at the threshold of adolescence with her first born. A while back, she described an unsettling incident with her then nine year old daughter. Upon discovering her daddy had stacked four slices of freshly baked Costco pizza on top of each other, so that cheese was stuck to top of each plate, the girl exclaimed in a very snotty tone, "Thanks a lot dad!" Her story brought back memories of the sharp words and smart aleck comments that often accompany adolescence. I recalled a particularly difficult day with my sometimes contentious first born, when his more tender-hearted, younger brother declared with tears rolling down his cheeks, "I am never going to talk to you that way mommy." I smiled to myself. Because I knew he would. And, he did. This is the age and stage when our children begin to test the boundaries that we have worked so hard to carefully define for them . I am certain it ...