Driving around with my kids can be a wonderfully mysterious, often hilarious, experience. Getting to hear their insight into life, experiencing their wit and emerging ideas can have you in stitches, or tears, depending on the subject matter.Recently we were out and about grocery shopping when I was startled by this question from my son.
“Dad, if you would be a dictator, what kind of dictator do you think you would you be?”
Well now there’s a question you don’t get every day. In fact, I don’t think I have ever given it a thought! I was not sure how to begin to answer his question, so I did the classic; I have no idea where to go with this one, move and turned it back to him.
“Hmmm. Not sure son. What kind of dictator do you think you would be?”
Unlike me he had obviously given this a good deal of thought, because he immediately responded.
“I would want to be a good dictator so people would like me and stuff. I would try to make everything equal for the people. I would try to show people how to do God stuff, show them right from wrong. And I would avoid death at all costs!”
At first I wondered how avoiding death was a political objective, but after I thought about it for a bit it did make sense. However, I am not sure he’s picked up on the difference between a democratic leader and a dictator, but that is one of the reasons the conversation was so funny. And I guess I had better inform him that eventually death is in the cards for all of us.
On another recent trip, he reminded me to “buckle up.” I thanked him for reminding me. After a brief moment of silence he burst out with.
“You must have AIDS!”
“What?” I asked, shocked and surprised.
“You know. It’s a disease that makes you forget stuff. And you forget stuff all the time so you must have AIDS.”
It was very hard not to burst out laughing. “Do mean Alzheimer’s?” I asked him.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “That’s the one I mean.”
This morning on the way to church with my kids we talked about the economy and the political will to make hard choices. They brought it up and off we went. At one point we stopped the conversation and I was told,
“This is a good conversation and I’m enjoying it so don’t stop talking.”
On the way back we talked about abortion and war, why they exist and what Jesus might want for those situations. After that we discussed homosexuality and the Kingdom of God. Believe me that was a challenging conversation to have with a twelve and fourteen year old.
What a gift my kids are. While they are typical kids, they think deeply about life. Sometimes I expect them to be occupied only with fun thing like sports, cell phones, and music. But I am constantly challenged with their deep thoughts about the nature of life.
Lord have mercy. I need far more wisdom than I have to guide them.
Peace.
Great story. I enjoy wisdom of my kids too.
What a gift!
That’s one reason I always loved teaching the ages of your children the most (around middle school). They are still innocently curious and are usually still open to to the give and take in discussions, able to think at a level that begins to critique, compare/contrast. It can be fun and refreshing.
And with that age around, you as Dad, won’t be able to slip with Alzheimer’s yet! They’ll keep your brain working
Thanks for posting.