Cailee and I argued tonight – I think that’s what it was – well, to be honest, I don’t know what it was, but I felt guilty, especially given the context.
Here’s the backdrop.
Every week she is expected to memorize a verse for Awanas Cubbies (aka Wednesday night church program). Sometimes, she nails it right out the door – recites the verse a few times and its committed to memory. Other times – its like pulling teeth to get her to repeat the verse and when she doesn’t know it well enough, she likes to improvise (inserting silly words for those unknown/forgotten). I get frustrated, sad to say, and typically conclude she is just too young to memorize verses in an attempt to console my bruised ego that my child can’t say the verse. (I should say, that regardless of the struggle, she has always managed to eek out the verse when it comes time to repeat it to the program leader).
This week’s verse was “And a Savior is born to you”.
Here was the “argument.”
I would say “Repeat this… “A Savior is born to you”
She would say “A Savior is born to me.”
I would say “no, YOU”
She would say “ME”
Repeat (many times). Voices escalate. Mom finally walks away exasperated.
Even now, I don’t know if she was…
1. Personalizing the verse – assuming that when I pointed to her and said “you” she inferred “me”
2. She was deliberately being stubborn/comical (at times she laughed, and then she cried).
3. Or something else that hasn’t come to me yet.
So a few hours later, JJ tested her. Guess what. Same response. (and when she had to formally recite it for the teacher, she mumbled those words and somehow passed, clearly on cuteness alone). So now we are both in the dark. Welcome to parenthood.
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