I’ve come to the realization that I have somehow gotten the rap in this household as being the less intelligent of the two adults. I’m not sure how this is. Maybe it’s because I’m so goofy, maybe it’s because when I don’t know something I actually say I don’t know instead of making up an answer that sounds like it should be a good answer in make believe world like my husband tends to do.
The problem is my kids ask questions about fractions, volcanic action, and Jesus whereas most of my knowledge revolves around anything you might see on Animal Planet and/or The Holocaust.
All the experts encourage you to tell your kids you don’t know the answer to something if you really don’t know it. It’s okay if our kids know that we don’t actually know everything and maybe they feel a little validation when they realize what they’re learning really is difficult…not even mom knows!
The experts don’t mention the eye rolls that might ensue when your child is looking for help on her homework and you reply with, “Gosh, I really don’t know! That’s a great question!”
The experts don’t mention the huffiness your child might respond with when they ask you if you can “just Google it then”.
But the biggest slap in the face for me is that the children truly believe their father is better equipped to answer questions that require an intelligent response. They will now bypass me altogether if he is home or they’ll SAVE the question for his arrival if he’s not.
Him.
The same man who told me he thought our daughter might be allergic to chicken nuggets. Not chicken. Not breading. Not gluten. Not oil. No…the entire chicken nugget. Our daughter, the only child in the world who can apparently eat everything on the planet except…a chicken nugget.
They go to HIM!?!
The other night while sitting down to do homework Laina turned to me, “Mom? Are these lines perpendicular or intersecting??”
And I was all, “Oh! Ahem…well that sounds familiar! Intersecting lines are when lines cross…so perpendicular must mean, well let’s see here…”
“Never mind I’ll ask Daddy. He’s the smart one in the group.”
And there it was.
She actually said the words.
I’d feel offended if I weren’t so busy feeling relieved.