Sure…I mean…Yes…

Madi: “Mommy, can I watch a show?”
Me: “I guess so…”
Madi: “What does ‘I guess so’ mean?”
Me: “Uh..it means ‘I suppose’.”
Madi: “What does ‘I suppose’ mean?”
Me: “It means I will let you watch a show…somewhat reluctantly.”
Madi: “What?!? What about my show??!?”
Me: “Yes…yes, you can watch a show.”
Madi: “Yippee!”

This conversation, or some version of it, has been happening a lot between Madi and I lately. She asks me something, I answer, and then we clarify my answer…sometimes a few times until we get to a solid ‘yes’. Kinda was driving me bonkers, because really, is there any mistaking that ‘sure’ means ‘yes’?

After chalking it up to Madi channeling Amelia Bedelia for a few days, it started to dawn on me that the problem wasn’t Madi cutting holes in the towels when she hears “change the towels” (how’s that for an obscure Amelia Bedelia reference)…the problem was me…ouch.

I realized that I hardly ever said “yes” or “no”, but used every other imaginable phrase…I suppose, sure, I’m not sure, I’m thinking about it, uh-huh, yup, not today, I don’t think so, hmmm, why not…no wonder she felt the need to clarify!

Why this lack of clarity? Sometimes I just haven’t decided, but other times I think I give purposely vague answers so that I can reinterpret it later…hopefully to my benefit. In the “big people world”, it’s called strategic ambiguity…obviously, in the “Hammond world” it doesn’t cut the mustard.

So, I have been working on answering Madi’s questions more directly. Harder than I thought? Definitely…I mean…Yes…

— Post From My iPhone