Apples And Trees. Or Maybe It Should Be Nut And Tree

Usually we only like to see our positive, healthy character traits passed along to our children. You know, the ones you could not have possibly nurtured into them. I'm talking about the "nature" ones or whatever educators/researchers are calling them these days.

I normally attempt to deny my genetic influence on the bad or super-quirky stuff that is already pouring out of my kids, but sometimes, just sometimes, I have to take responsibility. The following event was one of those...

After the crumbgobblers go to bed (and they are STILL crumbgobbling), John and I get some time just with Ainsley and it is fun. Several evenings ago we were sidewalk-chalking and John started just rubbing the side of his chalk on the driveway - as if he was coloring the entire thing in. This is what it looked like (the pink rectangle part):



I was getting tense. You see, in my crazy-world he was unnecessarily using chalk and the pink chalk at that. Just throw it away if you're going to do something like that. I didn't say anything, though, because somewhere in my irrational mind I knew it was ridiculous of me to get fired up about...chalk. As I was inwardly talking myself down from the cliff of anxiety (about chalk), Ainsley said "Daddy, what are you doing?".
John: "I don't know. Just coloring."
Ainsley: "Daddy, you're wasting chalk."
John: Well, he just looked at me. And stopped wasting chalk.

That's my girl.