Peacemaking means making peace. It can also mean making cookies.

And when there is a quibble, one just needs to take … a … nibble. (oh gads, that’s a terrible rhyme)

We had a little bit of a neighborly dog dispute yesterday. It was resolved pretty quickly, but just to be on the safe side I baked up a dozen cookies tonight and took them over. Hopefully, they were received in the same spirit with which I made them. No hard feelings, no fault and no blame.

So many times we sit on our feelings. Then weeks, months or years later we blurt them out.  That pent-up anger comes out in a big argument, a long angry email, or worse. It’s no fun to be on the receiving end of one of those, or on the giving end. A better solution is finding a calm voice as well as a respectful and kind frame of mind, then talking things over as soon as possible. Talk often, and talk with consideration.

Fortunately, we know everyone in our neighborhood and talk frequently so when a conflict does arise, as they inevitably do, we can resolve it pretty quickly and go back to being friends.

And just to be sure the conflict is resolved, perhaps a plate of cookies will do.

Made cookies, made peace, and made a bad rhyme.