Wednesday, June 3, 2009

That is not appropriate

You know, you learn a lot about yourself through your kiddos. In fact, I can honestly say that I have identified many of both my learned and my genetic behaviors through the twerplets. Most importantly, through them, I have been able to see, first hand, my most annoying traits. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I just wish they would pick my some of my better traits to imitate.

Have you ever been told your behavior is "inappropriate" by a 3 or a 4 year old?

No, well I hear this statement on a daily basis. To almost anything I say or do Ainsley can find something inappropriate about it and she is the first to point it out. How irritating! I wonder where she got that from?

Last night we were sitting around the dinner table. As usual, everyone was wanting to say the prayer. It is a battle in our house. On some occasions we will spend as much as 5 or 10 minutes listening to each of the kids deliver their own dinner prayers. This is often complicated by the fact that it is always difficult to get everyone to sit at the table to get started. Ainsley and Graham always have to go to the bathroom they moment the dinner bell rings. Sydney is often reluctant to get off of the computer or to pry her nose from a book. Her mother is the same way. Additionally, there are always items forgotten. So, Lynley or I are constantly getting up to get the ketchup, new napkins, or whatever whims the kids can come up with. The point is that getting dinner to the table is not a problem. Getting people sitting at the table definitely is.

Last night as our effort to sit at the table kept drawing on I kept seeing our dinners get colder and colder. Ainsley was the culprit on this occasion. She was in the bathroom washing her hands for the third time. The rest of the kids were fighting about who was going to say the evening prayer. I knew this was going to end up in a situation where everyone had to say their individual prayers. My dinner was going from cold to frigid.

I had it.

I told them I would say the prayer and that would be it. I was not creative.

"Thank you for our food. Amen."

That was followed by "Thank the lord. Now we can eat."

Ainsley apparently could not hear me very well as she raced to the table. The next words out of her mouth were "Daddy, you said spank the lord. You can't say that."

"That is not appropriate!"

Everybody had a hearty laugh. Ainsley, however, was still very disappointed in me.

Wow, was that what I looked and sounded like.

Maybe I need a spanking.

Regardless, I just wish they would copy my purpose instead.

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