April 5 – “Establishing the ground rules”

I had the honor once again of taking Cailyn to school.  On the drive over there, we were chatting amiably about driving through “Moody in the Gardens” when we had time, and whether or not Nani knew how to do that “just in case she was the one taking me to school,” when, out of the clear blue, she made this solemn pronouncement: 
“DadDad, if my Daddy ever hits you in the face, you should ground him.” 

Whoa.  Where did that come from?  I hadn’t realized we had jumped from trip itineraries to a discussion about the ground rules for parenting.  She continued, lest I somehow misunderstand her meaning. 
“That means he can’t do anything, and no candy, no cartoons, no TV shows, no movies, and no going fishing.” 

By now I was getting into the spirit of the discussion, so I conspiratorially asked, “Well, how about ice cream?  Can he have ice cream?” 

And the answer, as expected, was: “No.  No ice cream.”    

I guess I hesitated a bit long at that point, because she added, “Now, you write that down, DadDad.  Here, I’ll help you …” 

At this point she switched to her best “read my lips” voice, enunciating each word slowly and carefully: “If … my … son … ever … smacks … me … in … the … face … he … is … grounded … like … this …” 
Well, you get the picture.

That afternoon at the playground she picked up where she had left off. 

“Did my Dad ever smack you in the face?” 

Did you notice the switch from “Daddy” to “Dad”?  It was afternoon now.  Daddies become Dads in the afternoon.  It’s the only explanation.

I assured her, “No, He would be grounded if he did.  I have it written down.” 

She added, “Well, if he does, he can’t even go to fire fighter.” 

Now that’s a serious punishment.  Just out of curiosity I asked her if she ever smacked her Daddy, er, her Dad, in the face.  She looked at me as if I had said the most ridiculous thing ever, and quickly assured me she had not.  It’s a good thing, too.  Now that we have the punishment all written down, I don’t imagine she will ever succumb to that temptation.  Looks like you’re safe on this one, Nathan.

Isaiah 53:5-6 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Father, thank you for not giving us the punishment we deserve.  Your grace is amazing.  Amen.