February 2nd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
It didn’t take long, just over five years from the girls’ birth, during the last duration I was home.
I don’t remember the question, somewhere along the lines of wear your socks or help me clean up the living room, perhaps, but the answer was:
“Because I don’t tell you to do bad things. I ask you to do things that are good for you to do.”
which is a slightly longer way of saying,
“Because I Said So.”
which is a much shorter and less informative way of saying,
Because I have already played the result of what you want out in my mind, and I don’t like the result. Because your toys and my feet are in danger when I have to carry a sleeping kid across the room in the near darkness to go up the stairs. Because it’s not warm enough so that your bare feet won’t get cold. Because the more stuff you take to your friend’s house, the more chance you have of losing something. Because it is good for you to get in the habit of doing things that benefit you in the longer term. Because even after I try to explain this to you, it probably won’t strike you as more important as what you want. Because you need to trust me, and barring some important piece of information, I’m usually right. Because I love you, and I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that would actually hurt yourself.
which by the time that were to get said, I could have gotten up, completed the task, and moved on.
I don’t know whether the precious seconds I saved were worth any future ramifications of actually discussing it. What I said was likely better than the B.I.S.S., but it was still a reminder that there are little better things to do than teaching the kids. I am indicted. 
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
