Micaela, to make things easier for you if you're ever seeing an Analyst years and years from now, here's why you have trouble dealing with being wrong...
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About 7 weeks ago, we took out a CD from the Oakville Public Library that has a bunch of songs on it including "All Together Now". We've been listening to all of the songs over and over and over again.
All Together Now starts like this:
One, two, three, four
Can I have a little more?
five, six, seven, eight nine ten I love you.
A, B, C, D
Can I bring my friend _____?
E, F, G, H, I, J, I love you.
The blanks after "Can I bring my friend" are there because they're the source of this incident.
About 3 weeks ago, I heard you singing the words "Can I bring my friend to eat" while singing along to the song. I corrected you: "No, no Micaela. It's 'Can I bring my friend to tea'." (You will later tell me that I said "Can I bring my friend for tea", but that's not where we are in the story yet.)
You, of course, insisted that it's "to eat", but I left it at that.
Until the next time the song was on and you sang "to eat" again. I corrected you again. You disagreed. And we agreed to disagree.
Then Mom was in the car and it happened again. This time, I turned the volume way, way up so Mom could hear it and tell us which it was - without knowing who thought it was what. You cheated and sang your words on top of the loud music. Mom, realizing that she was being put in the middle of a dispute, chose to say she wasn't sure. (Although I believe she knew the truth).
On it went.
Until yesterday. With your second oldest sister and your Mom in the car, we turned the volume way up once again, you played it straight and kept quiet while we all listened to the lyrics. Clear as day, the singer said "to tea" and you refused to acknowledge it, insisting that it was "to eat". Your sister tried to diffuse the tension by saying it was "to bed" (which is a later verse and pretty funny, but not the point).
Finally, in Longo's, I pulled out my iPhone, Googled the lyrics, zoomed in on the words so they were really big, and had you read them. (Bet you didn't know reading could be used against you.)
I watched your face as you read the lyrics to yourself (Later, as an adult, you'll learn to read a few words ahead before saying things out loud and incriminating yourself in situations like this - but you just learned to read, so I had you). I watched as a little bit of innocence-lost washed over your face. I felt a little bad.
Until you looked up at me and said "Well, you said 'Can I bring my friend for tea' so we're both wrong." Only now did I take the high road and accept your admission of wrongness, flawed as it might be.
I should have left it at that. But later Mom asked what you wanted to do today. I answered "Maybe you should have a friend to tea."
Sorry about that.
In my defense, I should get a mulligan because I was right and you were wrong.
Anyways, tell your Analyst about the good times too.
Love, Dad.
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