Four Phrases

Yesterday I saw a post on social media from a mom I know from church. Her daughter had a school assignment that asked her to write the four phrases she heard most in her house, and the daughter wrote lovely things like, “I love you; I’m proud of you; please clean your room; listen and obey” all phrases that show what a great mom this mom is.

This made me curious about what my kidless would say were the most common phrases heard in my house. I was pretty sure that none of those lovely phrases mentioned above would make the list. They did not. I interviewed each of the three younger kidlets separately, and here were the responses:

The Devious Snail:

1. “You’re not done practicing.”
2. It’s not a phrase, but the sound of stomping feet.
3. “What are we having for dinner?” “Food.” “What kind of food?” “Edible food.”
4. “Do you have anything to do? If you don’t have anything to do, I can give you something to do.”

The Banana:

1. “Hurry.”
2. “Do you have something to do? If not, I’ll give you something to do.”
3. “Let’s go!”
4. “Be on top of it.”

Mr. Trouble on Feet:

1. “Practice.”
2. “Do your work.”
3. “Did you do your homework?”
4. “What time is it?”

Oh yes. It’s all so accurate. Hopefully they are also hearing that they are loved and cherished in the middle of all of that.