Things Worth Remembering

So, last night at dinner some things happened that I want to remember. This is more of a journal entry than a blog post, but whatever. 

First: the poem of the day. Lately I've been reading a poem of the day to the family every night at dinner time. Last night we had a pretty nice discussion of Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Each night we get a little more participation and a little more input from the kids on the poetry, which is great!

Second: this was just funny. Out of nowhere, one of my kids asked how kids inherit traits from their dads, given that they come out of their mom. She could see how the mom would pass on traits, but not how the dad did it. This type of question always seems to come out of nowhere, and I generally believe in answering honestly and directly about these things. The question is generally a good sign that they're ready for at least some information. But the child who asked it is solidly in the middle of the family, which meant there were much littler kids present. Not ideal for the kind of answers I was thinking of, and I've learned from experience that this child doesn't usually respond well to "I'll be happy to tell you about that, just ask me after dinner," type of answers. She takes the answer, but then forgets to ask later. 

Anyway, this topic brought about this choice moment of conversation (paraphrased):

Me: I can tell you more later, but for now, you should just know that a baby is created by the intimate things that husbands and wives do together.

Her: Like feeding each other?

The entire table bursts out laughing

Older sister: You don't need to know right now. You'll regret it. 

Her: I was thinking like, maybe the wedding cake?

Too funny. 

Third, we also had a nice discussion of the symbolism and importance of baptism. My second-to-youngest will be baptized this year, and he has been more than a little nervous about putting his head under the water. He's pretty nervous about things like swimming and large bodies of water in general. Anyway, he surprised me when I asked why we get baptized by saying, with much more seriousness than usual for him, "to make a promise with God." 

Ordinarily, he's the type to bring up toys, candy, and TV shows as frequently as possible, and he often finds spiritual discussions boring. Plus, we haven't discussed this topic for a couple months, so his quick answer impressed me. We got a similarly quick and unexpected answer from one of the quietest family members, who always listens but rarely speaks. She said, "so our sins can be forgiven." Hearing both of those answers simultaneously given from two of the least likely sources at that table was touching. 

Finally, I hit a new level of dad-jokery last night when one of the kids, also out of nowhere, asked what blackmail meant. I'm not sure why she asked, but I should probably find out. Anyway, my second daughter launched into a confident but not-quite-correct explanation of what it meant, giving a variety of examples involving transmitting sensitive information over the television or internet. Sensing my moment, I piped up:

"Actually, those are all electronic examples. That's called black e-mail." 

Groaning ensued. 

You're welcome.