I get asked a lot of questions.
"Can my parents (in-laws)* join us for dinner?"
"Can I eat this entire box of candy?"
"Can I jump off the roof of the house?"
Chances are I am going to answer all these questions with a "NO!" Although I will seriously consider the last one, what harm could come about in jumping off the roof of the house. Even though I say no, I don't think that my response EVER registers with my family. When was the last time that my wife's parents* weren't allowed to come to dinner because I said no? I would have to say never. Does my son ever NOT eat the entire box of candy? Uh uh. If my other son wanted to jump off the house do you think that me saying no is really going to stop him? HELL NO.
Why do I even get asked these questions?
It seems they are more of warning shots than questions. It's as if my wife knows full well my in-laws* are coming to dinner but instead of just saying that they are coming, she throws it out there as a question. My kids do the same thing all the time.
"Can we play the Wii?" NO. Where do you think they end up?
It leaves me wondering if I ever mean what I say. Am I such a pushover that nobody thinks I am serious when I say no? Or do I just say no way too much? If you have kids it's easily in the top five of words and phrases used:- No
- Eat your food
- No
- Lift the toilet seat when you pee
- No
Ok, so I do use it a lot. But sometimes I mean it. I only say it because I don't want anyone to get a belly ache, I don't want anyone to get hurt, and I don't want to eat with my in-laws* again.
I guess what it boils down to is this, I get asked a lot of different questions, I just don't have a lot of different answers.
*My in-laws are GREAT people.
