As the kids were growing up, when they’d do something slightly naughty or disrespectful we often asked ourselves, “Will this be cute in ten years?”
It wasn’t hard to guess. Emily was the assistant house mother for around 40 teenage girls. And there were a couple hundred teenagers at the boarding school. We could easily imagine our kid’s behavior in “teenage clothes” and realize that it wasn’t something we wanted to encourage.
And it has paid off. Big time.
Our kids are now 16, 13, and “almost 11.” And they are a blast.
Take our dinner conversations for example. Yesterday was my birthday. Our conversation ranged from:
- Different forms of birth control – I shared my mother’s womb with a Dalkon shield so that tends to come up on my birthday
- To a quote from the IT crowd – Moss’ “My ears are not a toilet!”
- To lines from “The Banana Song – “Guac-amole, Gauc, Guac-a-mo-oh-oh-le”
Sure they’re human. But they are nice humans
In thinking about our dinner last night, I remembered that “Will this be cute in 10 years” question. Sure, our kids are human. Like the rest of us so they have good days and bad days. But I’m really glad we asked that question all those years ago. Because our kids are a delight.
And if you’re interested in that last song…here it is. You can’t un-hear it.
