I grew up with a father who had a tremendous appreciation for the English language. For me and my siblings, this meant that he would frequently interrupt dinnertime conversation to correct what he saw as any egregious grammatical misstep (Me: "me and her were going..." Dad: (loudly) "she and I!") However, it is thanks to him that I unequivocably understand the difference between the subjective ("You and I are friends") and objective ("Let's keep this between you and me") pronoun case (and also the reason that I have an uncontrollable tendency to cringe at bad grammar, myself...). It also led to him having an insatiable proclivity for bad puns.
The reason I mention it is because this tragic character flaw seems to have surfaced without warning in my 10-year old son. Tonight my husband was pouring a beverage, and when the cold liquid touched the surface of the glass, it abruptly cracked. As we rushed to save the drink, Riley curiously asked why that had occurred. Never one to miss a "teachable moment", I explained that there must have been a "hairline crack" that had spread due to the sudden change in temperature. He of course then wanted to know what that term meant...and (once again--will I NEVER learn?) I answered without screening my words: "that means it's not visible to the naked eye." I did catch myself, though; I instantly turned to Derek, spied the mischievous gleam in his eye, and firmly advised him, "Do NOT make a 'naked eye' joke!"
Momentarily thwarted but apparently undaunted, he vanished into the adjacent room. Approximately 30 seconds later, he leaped into view, COMPLETELY NUDE, with a piece of paper Scotch-taped to his chest. On the paper he had simply written a capital "I". "Look", he gleefully exclaimed, "I'm a NAKED I!"
Oh. My. Goodness. Your Pop-Pop would be sooooo proud! (and heaven help the rest of us!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment