Better Than

Sometimes, I imagine how conversations will go in our house. This is one of them.

Me: Girls, come here. I want to talk to you.
Them: Okay.
Me: You're bright kids, you know that, right?
Them: Well, yes.
Me: And not that being bright is everything. It's really about working hard, and learning, and doing the right thing.
Them: Yeah, we know.
Me: And some things, you're going to need to really work hard on them in order to do well in them.
Them: Yeah, we know.
Me: And we also do some things better than others, and other people do some things better than us, right?
Them: Yeah, we know. Like Daddy can do math better than you can.
Me: Yes, that's right. But I worked very hard at learning my math, and now, I'm still pretty good at helping you.
Them: So Daddy can do math better than you can.
Me: Yes.
Them: But you can write better than Daddy.
Me: Um, no. Actually, Daddy is a very good writer. Our writing is very different, but I probably don't write better than Daddy.
Them: Well, how about music? Can you play the piano better than Daddy?
Me: No.
Them: Running? Are you a better runner?
Me: No. Again, we're different. I can run further but Daddy can run faster.
Them: And Daddy's stronger, funnier, louder, and can stay up later.
Me: Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Them: Yeah, we know.
Me: But I have my strengths. I have more common sense and can multitask far better than Daddy can.
Them: Huh. Okay. I'd rather be strong and funny.
Me: It's time for bed.

I had planned on talking to the girls today about math, and how they needed to work hard, and all of the rest of that, but then the above conversation played out in my head. Now, I'm ditching that plan. To hell with my being a cheerleader for my kids. I have better things to worry about. Things like taking down my husband on something that matters.