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Monday, May 23, 2011


I know. There was a different post up before. But sometimes I am too tender to let some things stand and I know that if I sleep on it...perhaps things will feel better. 

Instead, you get this post from 2007. And let it be known that Emily and I STILL use these very same questions to determine if things are really as bad as they might seem.


A few weeks ago, I was walking Emily to school.

She was listing her usual litany of complaints. Who she liked. Who she didn't. You know, the usual walking to school conversation.

I reminded her that she needed to go into the after school program, as I had to work in the afternoon.

This prompted a new wave of whining.

"But I don't LIKE to go to the after school....Nobody LIKES me..."

Now, perhaps other Moms might try to puzzle out the who, what and whys of this statement.

Me? What pearl of wisdom did I have?

"Why not? Did you kill a hobo?"

This shocks my daughter into nervous laughter.

"Kick a puppy? Drown a baby bird?"

Her laughter now cascades out of her. Full on belly laughs.

"MAMA! I didn't kill a hobo!"

"Then I guess you can't be all that bad then."

And with that, we held hands and finished the walk to school.

2 Baleful Regards:

monicac2 said...

Love it! When I was a kid, the phrase that my mom always used to put things in perspective was, "You didn't kill anybody!" And it sounds so extreme, but there's always a part of you that says, "You know what? You're RIGHT! I feel better already!"

Anonymous said...

I hate to admit it, but I DID drown a baby bird when I was about 7 years old. In fact, it was four little chicks, on a dare from the neighborhood gang...man I wanted in bad. Alas, they gave me the snub anyway, and I've carried that guilt since.

 
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