Friday, May 20, 2005

Parenthood

An actual conversation with my dad when I was 10 or 11:

Me: "I hate lima beans."
Dad: "Hate is a very strong word. I don't ever want to hear you say hate again."
Me: "I despise lima beans."
Dad: "That's better."

This is by way of saying that I worry that I am becoming my dad. I try not to over-analyze the things I say or do, or even the noises that I make (I yawned once and sounded exactly like my dad and I wondered if anti-depressants would be useful). I guess I just hope I am a good dad and never end up in a conversation like the one above, or this one, another real one from the same period:

Me (to my brother): "You're a pig."
Dad: "Hey, never call anyone a pig."
Me (to my brother): "You're a jerk."
Dad: "That's better."

P.S. My guest post on Mister Anchovy for today.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could have conversation with your children like the ones I have...

me: "How many times do I have to tell you not to hit your sister with a stick! Give me that stick!"

son: "But she hit me with the stick first, I just took it away from her!"

me: "Neither one of you should be hitting anyone with sticks! Get back in the house."

son: "I promise not to hit her again!"

me: "That's right you won't because you're going in the house now."


... and so it goes..

Anonymous said...

I hate lima beans too!!! I like bean sprouts and baked beans. I like brussel sprouts but that's not beans is it? Thanks for getting my mind on beans!!

Milt Bogs said...

"I yawned once and sounded exactly like my dad and I wondered if anti-depressants would be useful."

Brilliant.