It's classic exchange between a zealous, young prosecutor and a complex, senior ranking military general that most of us recognize instantly from the classic movie, "A Few Good Men."A great line, a great lesson. Today the point was driven home in a very memorable way.....
Earlier Maddie and I were watching the Brewers game after church, snuggled up on the couch. Relaxing, having some good laughs and just being goofy. I like to check in with her once in awhile on the 'boy' front, if you know what I mean.
She is, after all, 8 big-years-old, headed in to 3rd grade and quite the bright one. She of course scoffs at the mere suggestion of boys, which I reinforce emphatically. She understands that dating begins sometime in the late-20's, and marriage talk....30 minimum! This all sounds good to her (now), and I consider it good ammo for the future.
Me: "Sooo, any boys catch your eye lately?"
Maddie, "Daaaaad.."
Me, "Whaaaa??" (feigning innocence and ignorance)
Maddie, "Noooo Daaaaddddddd" (cue eye roll and slight head shake)
Me, thinking 'whew, so far so good', "Well, do you think any boys are cute?"
June-bug, "Nooo"
Me, wondering if I'm still the apple of her eye, "Well, so, ummm if you had to rank from like one to ten, you know, one being awfully ugly and ten being really really cute (I smile reaaaal big, like a cue), what would you rate Dad?" (Why I'm speaking in 3rd person to her here, I have no clue!)
Madalishous, staring at me intently, "Hmmmm..."
Me thinking, 'come on junior, it's not a trick question....'
Mad-dogg, still eyeing me up....
Me thinking, 'sheesh, I feel self-conscious now...out with it already....come on, come on...I can help you with it....one number after NINE....say it with me Teeeee.."
Maddie, "5"
Me, "Whaaaaatttt?"
Maddie, staring even harder now for what seems like an eternity, but in actuality is about 3 seconds...."and-a-half?"
This is her consolation prize. Her vote of confidence. Her telling me, 'gee Dad, you're not average...just ever so slightly above..'
That is vintage Maddie.
And just like that young attorney, I apparently can't handle the truth, either!
don't worry honey...in my book- you're a TEN (and a half!)
ReplyDeleteCaleb still thinks I'm the prettiest girl in the world. I always say to him "you'll still think that when your 16 right?" In his 5 year old little mind he thinks mom is the greatest...he wanted to know if he could marry me this weekend so we had to explain we can't marry family members :) SO basically I told him he can't grow up anymore. Its 5 years old forever! I KNOW I can't handle the truth!
ReplyDeleteI think that Maddie would probably rate me just a little higher than a 5 and-a-half. One of the disadvantages of having a really cool-looking senior pastor.
ReplyDeletePastor Jerry, you're ON A ROLL today!
ReplyDeleteEpilogue:
ReplyDeleteMe, "So what do I need to do to get that number UP?"
Maddie, "the hair on your arms." (as if my question even needs an answer)
Me, "What?? What about it?"
Maddie, "It's too much..."
(I really don't have hairy arms!)
Me, "OK, anything else??" (hoping that the 'hairy arms' are my only hurdle to that '10')
Maddie, "Your hair is sticking up."
Me, "OK, so I magically thin out the arm hair and slick down the hairdo, NOW WHAT'S MY NUMBER???!!"
Maddie, considering these much needed improvements, she looks at me and says matter-of-factly, "8."
I'm shaving my arms right now and looking for the grease for the hair. I'm shooting for an eight and a-half.
ReplyDelete8.5?? Ha. Pastor, you're a 10!
ReplyDeleteSo is now a good time to talk about a raise??
So I asked Caleb this morning...On a scale from 1-10 what would you rate mommy. He said 1. I thought...oh no! He's only 5 and already he's rating me low. Then he said...you're number 1 mommy the best ever :) Then I decided to try something. What would rate James and Jill on a scale from 1-10. He thought for a second...1 he said. They're the best ever.
ReplyDeleteI love age 5. 5 forever people!
Hmmm, could it be that Maddie was using the same logic and scale? Wait, my number still stinks that way - slightly BELOW average.
ReplyDeleteSo between 2 kids, now I'm down to a whopping 3.25 and sinking faaaaast..........
Someone ask Emma Cartwright, and QUICK!
Caleb is the coolest kid EVER.
ReplyDeleteHe's a (#) 1 in my book!