May 7 – “A serious discussion”

I had quite a serious discussion last night on the way home from Micah’s baseball game.  Cailyn was in the car with me.  Not that every discussion we have is serious by any means, but this one was particularly so.  After a brief period of silence from the back seat I heard, “DadDad, what is serious?” 

Craning my neck to around so I could catch a glimpse of her in her car seat, I could tell that she was in a pondering mood.  So I went through my repertoire of grandfatherly wisdom to see if any of my internalized categories held answers to such a profound query.  Sadly, as is usually the case, I didn’t find much.  So I decided to give it my best shot.  Digging deep for access to my four-year-old vocabulary I tried: “Serious is when it is very important for you to listen carefully and make sure you do or say the right thing.” 

She seemed to be listening carefully and … well, seriously.  I decided to encourage a response of some kind, so I added, “What do you think ‘serious’ is?”

It didn’t take long for her to come up with an answer to that one.  “What is serious?  It’s when my Mommy is talking to me and I laugh and she doesn’t laugh and she says, ‘that’s not funny.’  That’s serious.  And when my Daddy talks to me in a not very nice voice and I want to laugh but I don’t.  That’s serious.”

I encouraged her with, “That’s exactly right.  That’s just what serious is.” 

She pondered again for a second or two, then added, “But I don’t like listening.”

Ah.  Therein lies the rub.  As I was struggling to formulate some wise and appropriate answer, she continued, “But I cheered for Micah.  And I played with my friend Kayla, and I met her at Easter, remember?  And I saw Baby Noa and Aunt Christina was …”

That’s right.  We had moved on.  the rest of the drive home was filled with happy chatter about Micah hitting the ball and Jachin running away from the girls and Josiah jumping from the bleachers and Noa almost waking up and Mommy’s graduation party coming up.  The serious discussion was over. 

Psalms 89:15-16 says, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.  They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.”

Father, thank you for the serious – and not-so-serious – times with my grandchildren.  Amen.