Let me preface this with: I swear to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God - and I promise not to embellish. These phrases really did come out of the mouth of my adorable 3 year old son Bennett, without any prodding, encouragement or arm twisting on behalf of his older brother. With that being said....
We were doing our nightly ritual of "Thankfuls" at the dinner table. I asked Bennett, "What is your thankful tonight, sweetheart?". With utmost seriousness he responds, "I'm dankful for my butt" and didn't even crack a smile. At first Daddy disciplined him and told him we don't need to use those kinds of words in our thankfuls. Gavin was failing miserably at trying not to smile which would incite Bennett to come up with even more candid things to be thankful about. I was hiding comfortably behind a napkin, while tears were streaming down my face. However, after the moment passed, it hit Daddy at what true humor that really was and eventually joined in as we all started rolling on the floor with laughter. Chuck & I find ourselves repeating that phrase every once in a while. What kind of parents are we?
The second Bennett-ism happened just the other evening - again, over dinner. Evidently, his mind is sharpest at dinner-time. Earlier in the day the boys and I were reading a Magic School Bus book about weather. They loved it because one of the children decides to make a hero out of the Weatherman and dons a costume and appears to have superhuman strength. Right up my kids' ally.
So, we're just all sitting and eating away, pretty much in silence when Bennett declares "I am double wuu man!". Gavin had to explain to us lesser mortals, that the character in the book who turns into Weatherman calls himself "W Man" and has a lightening flash across his chest. Evidently, he is one of the lesser known superheroes of our time. But a superhero none-the-less. Can you guess what the children played once we got home?
The last Bennett-ism, oddly enough, occurred the same day as the 'poopie incident'. Hmmm, I wonder if there is a connection? The kids and I were driving along when Bennett decides it's time to share his thoughts on my parenting ability. He says (and I quote), "It seems to me, every time God is nice, you are not." To which I promptly reply, "Excuse me? What are you saying? Let me try rephrasing this to see if I understand what you're trying to tell me. From your vantage point, whenever God is nice, Mommy is mean. Is that right?" His answer was clear and distinct and is still ringing in my ears today, "Yes".
Although my mind is screaming at me not to take this personally, I'm having trouble listening. Children are the best about speaking the truth - the bare, honest to goodness truth - whether you want to hear it or not. I realized that he was talking about my outburst of frustration earlier in the day. I ended up apologizing and telling him that even Mommy's make bad choices sometimes. That answer sufficed for the time being.
As it turned out, I have been in the process of falling off of the little 'Mommy pedestal' he has kept me on for some time now, next to the 'God pedestal' and he's realizing that I am not like God. Way to go Bennett!! I'm so glad he can see me fail, apologize and try again. I don't want him to think he has a perfect Mommy or Daddy. If he continued to think that, he would probably go on to think that he could attain perfection. Then where would his need for God be? I'm so glad that my failures can help point him to his need for Jesus.
